Bicycle slipped in dumpster ooze-wrist broken-no witness?

Mr Rebel was riding his bicycle through our neighborhood and turned around in the back of a chain grocery store's parking lot. He does this most every evening, long before dark. The store has a condensate drain that runs from the back of the building & across the back parking lot. The water runs within a couple feet from the corner of a dumpster. Saturday night, Mr Rebel's bike slid out from under him and he caught himself by falling onto his hand, cracking bones in his wrist. After he picked himself up, he noticed that there was garbage juice coming out of the dumpster, mixing with the condensate water.

The only witness of any sort was someone who drove by while Mr Rebel was laying in the parking lot, next to his fallen bike. They gave him a look of disgust and drove on. We have insurance that will pay 80% of the ER visit, the orthopedic surgeon & the surgery clinic. My question is: Since there was no real witness, is there any chance of getting the store to pay the uncovered bills? I do have pics and video of the area, showing the slippery ooze and the water.

Stu2012-08-14T15:22:39Z

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I believe so. Businesses are often libel for injuries incurred on their property if conditions suggest their oversight. Of course if Mr. Rebel was doing "crazy" bike stunts when this occured, it may be HIS fault. Often , stores have security cameras on their lot . You may want to check that out. Too, sometimes a nearby business will have one that might include a nearby lot as well.
You should write down the day,time, and how it happened(document it), and you can approach the Manager there and/or their corporate office and see if they will cooperate. They SHOULD and probably do have insurance for this. Good luck. Peace.

XTX2012-08-14T23:43:12Z

=== IN A CALM -- COOL __ manner you need to take the ER report and the photos to the store and ask if they will do the right thing and cover the 20% percent that your insurance does not cover .. asking for more money will not be ""correct"" just ask that they assume the balance of medical bills. If the store does not want to help then you can have the satisfaction of reporting this waste hazard to the city health inspector department and then take the store to small claims court for the balance of the medical bills .... if you ask for lost wages for a day or two of recovery then you will have to prove that and since there are no witnesses it is a difficult case to win == let us hope the store will find it RIGHT to fix the alleyway drain and pay the 20% .... that is really all you can hope to gain === again I do remind you to have a ""calm"" discussion and in private [[[ ask the store manager if there is somewhere you can talk in private and you do not want to talk where store customers can hear the discussion]]] If you get loud or use inappropriate words you will be asked to leave and have no chance of recovering the 20% .... OK !!!!!

roger g2012-08-17T01:25:24Z

FREEZER guy.
The system wouldn't let me email you so I'm trying this.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I always let the freezer defrost on it's own with the door wide open.

I gave in and called a repairman who is coming tomorrow. I hope I'm not wasting my money as you suggested that old freezers might not be worth the cost of the repair. Time passes so quickly that I hadn't really realized just how old this freezer is. I probably should have saved the cost of the service call and applied it to a new freezer.

Thanks again! I really appreciate the trouble you've gone to in trying to help me.