Hotel Injury Liability
March 13, 2019
Staying at a hotel is usually a time when you can avoid your normal responsibilities. This respite is a welcome change for many people, and they look forward to being waited on with room service and extra pampering. Yet, being on vacation or away from home may also come with something unexpected. When you are in a new environment, you are more prone to accidents since you may not be familiar with your surroundings. Whether there are hazards present in hotels may depend on the diligence of the staff and management at the hotel.
If you are hurt at a hotel, there is always the question of who carries the liability. This depends on the circumstances of the accident, but the hotel guest can show that the hotel did something wrong or was neglectful in some way, causing the guest’s injury. The hotel may be liable for the accident and responsible for any expenses incurred as a result.
A Hotel’s Liability Depends on the Circumstances
A hotel may not be liable if you spilled a drink in your room, or your friend did so, and then you hurt yourself as a result without notifying hotel management of any hazard created by the spilled drink. Yet, if the guest can show that there was a hazard left in the room by the cleaning personnel and it was there as soon as the guest first entered the room, then the hotel’s liability increases.
Attacks in Hotels
If a guest is attacked and injured by another guest or a trespasser while staying on hotel property, the same idea applies. If the hotel’s security system was not reasonable or in some way deviates from regular practices at other comparable hotels, then the hotel may be partially or fully liable for any expenses that resulted from the attack. If the hotel can show that it complies with regular safety practices, then it may not be liable for the attack.
If, for example, the guest left their room door ajar before going to sleep and the attacker entered the room, then the hotel will accrue less liability. Other relevant issues in that scenario would be how the attacker entered the hotel and whether they were an employee or a trespasser.
Philadelphia Slip and Fall Lawyers at Nerenberg Law Associates Help Victims Injured in Hotels
If you or someone you know was involved in a slip and fall accident at a hotel, we can look at all the aspects of your case for liability. The Philadelphia slip and fall lawyers at Nerenberg Law Associates can provide you with appropriate legal advice and determine which facts are most important to your situation. Please contact us online or call us at 215-569-9100 for a free consultation today. Located in Philadelphia, we serve clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
