Hey all. This weekend I was staying in a hotel and I was quickly heading out the main entrance which is 4 glass pains (2 open and 2 don't but there is not indication of which is which and the ones that do are automatic), I ran my face into the window side (that, as I said look like doors). I shattered my nose and ended up in the emergency room.

I should mention that I am a model and had a shoot scheduled at the end of September and in January... there is no way I will be healed in time for my September shoot and the dr said that my nose will be altered significantly and that to fix it I need surgery so I don't know if I will be healed by my January shoot.

I am really stressed out about this because not only am I out medical bills and very expensive cosmetic surgery costs (that insurance in unlikely to pay for) but I will be out significant income.

Do you think I have a lawsuit? I feel as if the hotel should make their exits more clear. You folks are the professionals... what do you think?

Thanks so much!

Lilly

I'd retain a personal injury Attorney immediately and he/she will probably send an investigator to look at the accident scene, take photographs NOW before signs are put up or the doors are somehow changed or modified.

If the damages are what you say they are the investigator will obtain the hotel's accident report - which may already be in the hands of their insurance carrier - and interview any and all witnesses, also will check with the local Police Department to see if there were any previous accidents. Obviously if this has happened to another person and nothing was done, the hotel has more liability. Investigator will talk to EMT's, Police, any professionals on the scene.

Liability will pretty much be nailed down now, before people have time to re-think what might have happened as opposed to what did happen.

Your Attorney will also review your contracts and income and determine what your damages are and could be.

In the meantime you are under no obligation to speak to the hotel or its representatives, insurance or otherwise. It is their job to make the accident more your fault and less their fault.


EDIT: If you belong to the one of the Unions/Guilds they will be enormously helpful to you.

Hello lilly:

What SHE said. Here's her greenie <>

excon

I used to be a model and something very similar happened to me. I filed an incident report with the company and their insurance paid all of my medical bills and my lost wages - so have your agency write a letter - or you write it and have them sign it with all of the bookings you lost and how much the contracts would have paid you.

You do not need an attorney to do this, unless you can find an attorney that will get you a boat load of money - but that's not usually the case in Texas anyway. I bet you'll call a bunch of lawyers and they'll tell you the case wouldn't pay you enough to retain them.

I did it with a crap company that did not want to pay - just be super nice and complimentary to the claims person. And you do need to take pictures of your face, the doors, make note if it was a sunny day, etc. You need to make out a journal of what happened before, during and after the incident - the doctors bills - ER - the whole shabang.

What upset me about what happened to me was the company never did anything to prevent my accident from happening to anyone else - they clearly had an obstacle there and refused to do anything about it.

If you are lucky and this place is a good company they may give you a little something for pain and suffering. I didn't get that - but my lost bookings were paid for and my medical expenses. What people don't understand about modeling is - when you miss a booking - it gives your competition a chance to get in there and knock you out. I almost had that happen with a good client of mine with my case - but believe me - a nice note to the art director will help keep you on their mind for future bookings.

"excon disagrees: Your advice is bad, and your story is old."

That is very rude of you excon - I thought you were a nice person.

People think models are stupid and that it's not a business - it is very much a business and is just as competitive as professional sports and acting.

Being knocked out of jobs due to a face altering event such as this is very serious and can end a career. Unless she's a mega modeling star she'd never get more than her out of pocket expenses for this accident - yet could lose her career. I think you're the one out of line and "old".

Okay, I've got this covered from both ends - I was a model in NYC in the day. I've posted that before. I am a liability investigator now - finished my education and moved back "home."

This is very bad as well as incorrect legal advice. I have no idea why you think OP can't be compensated for "losing her career."

No, I don't think all models are stupid - just (apparently) some of them.

Let me add... Go and take pictures NOW, before signs get put up. You have to have the evidence/proof and the proof is in the picture, or the pudding, I forget right now.

In the end, you have the burden of proof at this point, go back to the hotel and take pictures of the entrances that don't have signs.

I do see a defense here, albeit a weak one, that you should not have been hurrying so fast that you failed to attempt to open the door before rushing through. Remember, though, that is a weak defense, but a possible one.

1) Take pictures NOW, yesterday may have been too late...
2) Retain a personal injury attorney.

I'd switch the order on this - it's been my experience that most of the photographs taken by the injured party or his or her family are worthless. Pay the extra money to get a professional who knows what is necessary to show negligence or liability, who knows exactly what is needed for Court.

Of course, if that's NOT an option, take your own photos -

Otherwise, 100% on - just the wrong order.

Well, my experience is the opposite. I actually won a case using my own pictures... but then again, that was over 22 years ago.

However, if she waits, it may be too late.

Let me know if you're available for fill-in work - :D

You are clearly the exception - I see photographs taken by clients and have absolutely no idea what I'm looking at.

Good for you - smarter than the average bear.

The trick is in being able to take a good photo from the right angles, etc. She should take photos with both doors shut, one door open, pics of the door knobs, etc. They should be taken in a sequence. (Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that my hubby was a professional photographer in his earlier life). :o

Good case , most likely not, case yes. You will have to prove to a jury through photos of the scene that a normal person will believe it is not marked properly.
They are likely to show that there is almost never a problem and try to show that you must have just been careless since no one else in years?? Have had a similar accident

[QUOTE=Comments on this post
traceyrco : Sounds like a slam to me. Depending on the model's experience such as a new model - it would be difficult to prove what career loss there was if there wasn't much of a history of work. You have your opinion and mine is valid too..[/QUOTE]


This is incorrect - lost income and other damages in personal injury matters are calculated (and probably estimated) all the time. People actually are certified in such things and that's what they do professionally. That's what expert witnesses are for - what did she make, what could she make, what did she lose - ?

It's a very similar table to life expectancy - a number of facts and figures are punched in and those figures are admissible in Court.

I also don't know that the OP's modeling career is over, other than temporarily - I don't know that there is any permanent injury.

Also don't know if there is even any liability on the part of the hotel. That's pretty much been covered and she hasn't come back.

I know there was a fairly serious injury on the NYS Thruway - person ran full speed (in a rainstorm) into a side full length window, thinking it was a door. Serious cuts. Found no liability based on the number of people entering that restaurant/rest stop every day and no previous injuries or similar accidents. So the OP may very well have an uphill fight here.

I hope she found an Attorney to represent her.

Sometimes being injured does not automatically mean you collect the jackpot. This applies to premises liability in most cases. Medical bills are a given though and should be reimbursed. We have no idea what complications with her face may arise in a week or month or how much income she has lost due to this. If she was a full time model or a sometime model. Didn't state. That could complicate things if she was just a sometime model.

I do advocate taking pictures of the girl, the doors, the scene, etc, and the more pictures the better taken preferably with a good resolution camera if the photos have to be blown up they won't loose any quality. Also time and date stamp each picture is very important also otherwise who knows when the pictures were taken.