Q: While eating a mud pie at a Red Robins in L.A. I bit into some hard plastic that was from the bowl that they made the shell with. I chipped a small piece of my tooth. I had pain for a week and was still sensitive to chewing for a month. The dentist filed the edge of the tooth because it kept cutting my tonge. Should I sign a medical release for the insurance agent? What is this worth?
--Steve of Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Attorney Cliff Horwitz:
This would be both a products liability and negligence claim. The restaurant is responsible to sell you a safe meal.
I have no problem with you providing them with medical authorizations. This will allow them to get your medical records and perhaps negotiate with you in good faith. While I do not suggest you give them any tape recorded statements, on a smaller claim like this, it is to your advantage to attempt to negotiate a resolution directly with the insurance carrier. This way you will avoid attorney's fees and you will find that most attorneys will not be very motivated to handle the smaller claim. They should be, but they aren't.