I tripped over box of books at retail store. I have wrenched back and bruised elbow. Any grounds for suing?

If you have health insurance or the means to get the best medical care that you can, I certainly would take care of that first. It would be horrible to wait and end up with some permanent damage while trying to figure out the legal end of things. Your health comes first, then we can talk about the legal ramifications.

As for the legal part, you need a personal injury attorney to determine what the standard of care is in retail stores and if there was negligence on the part of the store and its' employees and if that was the cause of your injuries.

OK. First, you should not simply jump to "filing a suit" and running up large medical expenses such as an MRI. I would immediately become suspect of someone's motives in such an instance, as the appearance would be that the claimant was trying to build a claim for damages. What you should do is: (1) make sure the store took a report of the incident and get a copy (2) ask if the store has insurance to which you can submit any medical bills (3) see a doctor to get appropriate medical care. If the doctor recommends an MRI, then fine. But I wouldn't go in stating, "Hey, I got hurt and need an MRI" unless you, yourself, are a licensed medical practitioner. Despite my years of experience in personal injury law (and as a patient with back issues), I would never be able to advise my doc that I needed an MRI. Let the doctor do his or her job and follow all medical advice. Once you get all this underway, THEN you should seek a consultation with an attorney about handling a CLAIM, not filing suit. There's no reason to file a complaint if this matter can be amicably settled out of court first (besides, it keeps your attorneys fees down).

That you fell inside a store does not make the store liable for your injuries unless the store failed its duties to you.

Each person has a duty to watch where the person is going. That is, was there some reason why you did not see a box in your path and trip on the box? Presumably, if the box was big enough to make you fall, the box was big enough to be seen.

Many businesses have insurance coverage that will provide a little bit of medical expenses to persons injured on the premises without regard to fault. You can check with that business to see whether it has the insurance that would provide you with some medical expense.

Whether you have any cause of action against the business depends on your particular facts. Once you have seen a doctor to take care of your immediate medical troubles, you can review your facts with one or more attorneys to see if you have any legal bases to sue the business and win.

As far as medical treatment goes, you should treat any and all medical issued fully. If you fail to take care of yourself, any potential damages may be reduced by your "failure to mitigate."

As to the potential cause of action, the answer is -- as all things in law -- maybe. The essential elements of a claim for damages related to negligence are the proof of a duty owed to you (the standard of care), proof that the person or business failed to meet that duty (breach), that their failure to meet that duty caused you harm in some way (causation), and that this resulted in damage to you (damages).

If your pain goes away rather shortly, and can be treated with your health insurance or at little cost, it may not be worth a lawsuit. However, if there is substantial or permanent injury, it may be worth a claim against the bookstore.

You mentioned that you were pulling a box off of a table at the bookstore. If you were working at the store at the time, you likely will be unable to sue, as the sole remedy for workplace injuries is the Washington Industrial Insurance Act (commonly known as L&I). If that is the case, you should report the injury to your employer and open a claim so that you may obtain treatment.

If you do end up pursuing a claim, our offices do primarily personal injury, and we would be happy to consult with you free of charge.

IF YOU ARE HURT GO TO THE DOCTOR! IN REGARDS TO YOUR CASE IN EED MORE INFORMATION, HOWEVER IT WOULD APPEAR THAT YOU HAVE DAMAGES, IE: INJURIES.

IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOUR CASE IS VIABLE I WOULD NEED TO DETERMINE IF THERE WAS ANY NEGLIGENCE N THE PART OF THE RETAIL STORE:
WHAT WAS THE STORES DUTY.
WAS THERE A BREECH OF THE DUTY
WAS THERE BREECH THE CAUSE OF YOUR INJURY
WAS THERE DAMAGE.

IN ANY EVENT YOU NEED PROPER REPRESENTATION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A FREE CONSULTATION ASSUMING YOU HAVE NOT HIRED AN ATTONEY CALL ME.

EVAN OSHAN
LAW OFFICES OF EVAN OSHAN
P.O. BOX 861
MERCER ISLAND, WA 98040-0861
310 906 7137