I came out of the grocery store and, before unloading my grocery carriage, went to strap my son into his car seat. As I did, the carriage rolled away and slammed into a brand new BMW. The owner was quite annoyed, and said he would get a quote for the damage and get back to me. Now what do I do, am I responsible?
I hate to tell you, but, yes. You were the one who either set the grocery carriage into motion or who had the "last clear chance" to avoid the thing from starting up toward the car. Negligence includes doing things we ought not to have done, but, also, not doing things we should have done. I'll agree that safely strapping your son was priority one. But making sure your carriage was secure was your responsibility.
Your own insurance may well cover this. Strapping a child into a car seat is an activity attendant to the operation of the vehicle. So, this may be covered. Call your insurance agent right away to report the claim.
We paid to go on a radio station promotional trip to a theme park on a chartered bus. The ticket price included the bus, the admission to the park and snacks on the trip. On the ride home, our tour guides handed out bags of candy to the kids. One boy threw a sucker at my son, across the aisle, striking his front tooth and breaking it. This is a permanent tooth. We went for emergency dental care and realize that there will be additional dental care in the future. I contacted the radio station, asking if their liability insurance would cover the cost and was told "no." Shouldn't they pay?
The fact of an injury does not entitle one to an award of damages. You must prove the radio station was negligent. Negligence law asks whether, in carrying out any act or failing to carry out any act, it is foreseeable the conduct would cause the harm that resulted. So, the question here is whether it was foreseeable to the radio station people that, by handing out candy to kids, one brat would throw a sucker at your son, as you put it, with such force that it would break a tooth. This is a fact question for a jury or judge. But, in my humble opinion from reading tons of negligence cases, the answer is no.
The next problem is that even if you can establish negligence on the part of the radio station, they have another defense. The intentional act of the kid who flung the candy at your son would cut off any negligence on the part of the radio station.
See if either the charter bus line or the radio station have what is called "medical payments" coverage to pay for the basic dental bills. Where this insurance provision exists, it is paid without requiring proof of liability. If this is available, accept it and count your blessings.
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Andrew Myers of Derry has law offices in Derry and North Andover. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association. Send questions to andrew@attorney-myers.com.
