Injured at Caesars Palace

Oh. Ok. I'm not sure the potential publicity entered into their calculus. I bet they have a $ amount over which they always reject an immediate settlement and force the injured customer to evaluate whether it's worth it to try to sue them. Caesars can always settle in the future, but a lot of people can't afford the time or legal costs to get a Personal Injury case like this started....so Caesars wins by default.

Hey Alan...How much money were you asking for?

I wonder if anyone else has been injured by that door. That would go a long way to proving Alan's case.

We didn't ask for any dollar amount. All my lawyer did was submit information regarding my injury, treatment, doctor and pharmacy bills and insurance reimbursement. We hoped Caesars and it's liability representative would act in good faith. Instead my lawyer was told they wouldn't pay a dime unless we sued.

I broke a tooth eating black beans at Harrahs Las Vegas two summers ago. I found a stone in the beans after the break. I also took a picture of my broken front tooth and the stone in my beans on my tortilla in the buffet. CET refused to pay my dental bill.

I didn't go to law school, but I'm pretty sure that neither Caesars nor any other business can be expected to "act in good faith" and pay damages without the submission of a claim or a lawsuit.

What about taking it to small claims court, for the cost of your pants and shoes, assuming they were damaged beyond use? Your own attorney wouldn't have to be there, and you already have amassed evidence in support of your claim.

You were reimbursed by your insurance company for the medical. A tetanus shot, two rounds of PO antibiotics, the doctor's office charges. Not exactly major medical, though your insurance company could file for...what is the word for reimbursement by the respondent's insurance company? I really doubt the juice would be worth the squeeze on that, from the perspective of your insurance company.

You said you missed two days of work. Did the injury actually prevent you from working? Sorry, but the fact that you continued your Vegas vacation after the injury might not support reimbursement of your salary. Did your employer pay you for those missed days?

Again, I am sorry this happened to you, and glad those doors are working more safely.

We submitted the information that they asked for. Their response was they had no liability and if we wanted a dime we'd have to "sue" for it.

I sent the following letter to Caesars, a copy sent to my host who also forwarded it to the host's supervisors:

I am hoping that you will forward this to Gary Selesner, President of Caesars Palace.

My name is Alan Mendelson and I have been a good customer of Caesars Palace for nearly 20 years. Ever since Caesars became part of Total Rewards I have been a Seven Stars player. I was even married at a craps table at Caesars in a special wedding ceremony that management arranged for me.

On Friday, June 24, 2016 I was injured by a glass door as I entered the VIP entrance in the Augustus Tower. Caesars Palace security was immediately notified and a Caesars medical technician provided first aid which included bandaging a laceration on my right hand. There was a lot of blood from the injury since skin from my hand was peeled away. A written accident report was filed with Caesars Security.

There was a large amount of blood that covered the pocket area of a Caesars jacket that I purchased in the gift shop; there was blood on my blue jeans and on my shoes. I made several requests to your risk management department to replace the jacket because I usually wear a light jacket in the casino because of the air conditioning. The risk management department never responded to three separate requests, but my host comped a replacement jacket from your gift shop which cost about $50.

I never threatened a lawsuit over the injury. I just wanted to enjoy my weekend there. I enjoy about two dozen or more trips to Caesars Palace every year.

When I returned from the trip, I had a doctor check the wound because there was pain and swelling and discoloration and it was still bleeding. My doctor gave my a tetanus shot, prescribed a strong antibiotic for me (Cipro) and put me on a regimen of changing the bandage with topical antibiotics. It took several weeks for the wound to heal in part because it was difficult for the flap of skin to heal. There was considerable bruising.

About two weeks following the injury I received a letter from a company which says it represents your insurance interests. The letter came from Brad Schuler a claim representative with CCMSI, the company that represents you.

The letter advised me of my rights and gave me a claim number which was (deleted). I have been a TV news Consumer News Reporter and I always advise my TV viewers to consult an attorney when they receive official documents such as this. I forwarded the letter from CCMSI to my attorney, Robert Koenig. Mr. Koenig provided information concerning my medical expenses and a report about the treatment and subsequent infections that set in to CCMSI.

Unfortunately, Mr. Schuler, the claim representative assigned to my case, went on vacation. After a period of time of not hearing anything from CCMSI, my attorney, Mr. Koenig, was able to make contact with Mara Schwebel who is a supervisor at CCMSI.

My attorney Mr. Koenig sent to Ms. Schwebel various medical reports, bills and receipts, health insurance statements showing billing and the amounts paid by my health plan, and records showing the injury and treatment and subsequent secondary infection. Mr. Koenig also provided to Ms. Schwebel photos of the injury, photos of the blood on my jacket (which Caesars Security kept in a sealed bag because of the fear of contamination), and videos showing that the door at the Augustus entrance closed too fast to allow anyone to enter in a reasonable amount of time without being hit by the door and its beveled glass edge.

We never asked for any specific amount of monetary damages. All during the process we hoped that Caesars would make a good faith offer recognizing that I was indeed injured through no fault of my own, that the injury was not minor, that the injury required subsequent medical treatments, and that there were real costs involved that I had to pay for, and there was pain and discomfort from the initial injury and the subsequent infections.

I should also add that I am a recipient of a kidney and pancreas transplant, and I am susceptible to serious complications from infections and I needed the treatments prescribed to me by my doctors both at the Urgent Care Center where I had the initial treatment and from the medical staff at the St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles where I had my transplants eight years ago.

However, after we provided that medical and insurance information to Mara Schwebel her only response was that there was no liability on the part of Caesars Palace and if we wanted any money for damages or medical payments we would have to sue to get it.

Is this how you treat your long time customers? Is this how you treat your hotel guests? Is this how you treat your loyal Seven Stars players?

Never did anyone say "we're sorry that you were injured." Never did anyone say to me "is there something we can do for you because of your injury?" Never was there a follow-up with anyone asking "is the wound healing properly?" It was as if you didn't want to even acknowledge that I was hurt on your property.

The day after I was injured I shot a video of the door showing how quickly and abruptly it closed. About two weeks later I returned to Caesars Palace and found that the door no longer closed as quickly or abruptly. I posted on my TV show website www.alanbestbuys.com that I was glad to see that the door no longer closed so quickly and there is more time for people to enter -- including hotel guests who might be with small children, or using a walker, or wouldn't be prepared for the door glass catching their hand or hitting their body.

I returned to Caesars Palace, stayed there, and continued to play there and stayed and played several times since the injury. I even attended the 50th Anniversary Gala and I have plans to visit Caesars again.

I did not manufacture or create this injury to bilk Caesars Palace. I had a real injury. I suffered pain and discomfort, and from the subsequent infection I lost several days of work as a skin infection spread over large parts of my body. I did not threaten to sue Caesars Palace for huge amounts of money. My intentions were honorable and I was hoping for some just compensation and consideration for the injury. Instead, I got a claims supervisor who said "sue."

Really? Do I have to sue? Again, is this how you treat loyal customers, hotel guests and Seven Star members who have been coming to stay and play at Caesars for nearly 20 years?

Alan Mendelson
TR # (deleted)
Phone (deleted)
Email (deleted)

Hey Money, good to see you again.

Umm, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think any corp. will pay for anything because it admits guilt and opens them up to a civil suit. It's my guess this is why Caesar's won't pay a nickel towards any Dr.'s or any other bills.

John, businesses will settle a claim (if they accept liability) when it appears to be in its OWN best interest. Done all the time.

The CET shows that it fixed the offending door,after you were injured. Isn't that admitting a problem that they "fixed?"
If you have the money and the time,your lawers have their work cut out for them.
You may as go as far to sue for punitive damages as well.
It's YOUR call.

You have a case,if you want to persue it.
The videos are PROOF.
That door caused an injury.

You have to proove negligence,not a defective door.

Can your lawyer have access to any tapes/records of that door injuring anyone else before you?
If so,you will get proof of negligence.
You win,if you are willing to persue.

One more point to make,here.
If the door was "repaired" by an outside company and not C.E.T. ,those records will be available to your lawyer.

Internally,probably not.
They want to protect their assets.
It will be a dective story,soon. Hey,where is my spell check?
Columbo could get to the bottom line,here.