Appellate Practice Attorney serving New York, NY
You can sue, but you are unlikely to succeed. A civil claim for negligence requires damages. If a car runs a red light and hits you, you can sue it for your medical bills, lost salary while out of work, pain and suffering, etc. If the same car runs the same red light but narrowly misses you, you have no civil claim because you have no damages. This is unlike the criminal context, where the reckless driver has committed a crime whether he hits you or not. In your case, it is very unlikely that you will be awarded more than the price you paid for the can, as that is the only damage you have suffered.
Answered on Dec 13th, 2017 at 1:48 PM