A casino is more than just a place to lose money at games of chance. The features and entertainment of a casino can include restaurants, bars, lounges, theaters, and sometimes even a carnival. Between the size of most casinos and the variety of activities, there are numerous ways you can potentially get injured at a casino. And if you have been injured, you may need the services of casino injury lawyers to recover.
At Morgan & Morgan, we have decades of experience dealing with casino injuries. We negotiate the best casino injury settlements for our clients to get them the money they deserve for their injuries. If you’ve been injured at a casino, contact an attorney at Morgan & Morgan for your free case evaluation using our simple online form.
Dangers of a Casino
If you’ve ever been to a casino, you know that the atmosphere is frantic. Hundreds to thousands of visitors are packed inside a giant structure, playing games and spending money. It’s a raucous atmosphere where a thousand things are happening at once.
To make matters worse, alcohol flows like water at most casinos. Almost every casino serves alcohol, and some don’t charge for drinks. After all, a tipsy or drunk gambler is more likely to lose money than a stone-cold sober one. But an inebriated person is also more likely to get injured or injure someone else.
As a result of all this chaos, lots of types of injuries are common in a casino, including:
- Alcohol poisoning
- Food poisoning
- Assault (physical and sexual)
- Trip and fall accidents
- Spa accidents
- Swimming accidents (including drowning)
- Falls from heights
- Burns
Casinos may be held responsible for many of these injuries if they fail to properly protect their customers. A Morgan and Morgan attorney can help you determine whether your injury was the responsibility of the casino and whether you deserve money for that injury.
Negotiating With the Casinos: Casino Injury Settlements
A casino may contain half a dozen different types of businesses all under one roof, but that doesn’t absolve it of the responsibility to protect its customers while they are visiting. If anything, casino staff must take greater measures to protect customers, even if the likelihood of an injury is abnormally high.
When you are injured due to recklessness or negligence on the part of the casino, you are typically eligible to receive damages. In almost every case, that money will come from the casino’s insurance company, which casino injury lawyers will negotiate with to win the most money possible for their client.
On the other hand, insurance companies will try to independently determine what caused an injury and how much responsibility the casino has for that injury. Since the insurance company is on the hook for paying for responsibility, most insurance companies will find any excuse possible to minimize the responsibility of the casino. And once that responsibility is minimized, the insurance company will try to offer as little money as possible to the injured party.
At Morgan & Morgan, we do our own investigations by:
- Interviewing witnesses
- Examining the scene of the injury
- Reviewing casino safety procedures
- Looking at surveillance video of the injury
- Collecting medical records
All of this evidence creates a picture of what happened and helps us determine both who is responsible for the injury and how much the injury impacted your life. We can use that evidence to negotiate a fair settlement that you probably wouldn’t receive if only the insurance company were to perform an investigation.
Insurance companies will often make casino injury settlements to avoid going to court. The insurance company knows that injury lawyers can introduce compelling evidence at trial and that a trial will be more expensive than a settlement. Rather than risk a high-value verdict and thousands more spent on lawyers, an insurance company is likely to negotiate in good faith and agree to a fair settlement once lawyers get involved.
Indirect Responsibility
Just because a blackjack dealer didn’t hit you over the head with a pool cue or throw you down a flight of stairs doesn’t mean that the casino isn’t responsible for your injuries. It can even be responsible for your injuries if another third party harmed you.
Usually, when you make an injury claim against a casino, it is because you were directly harmed by something inside the building that is under the control of the casino. For example, if your meal was undercooked at a casino restaurant, you might suffer from food poisoning and seek compensation.
However, you can also receive compensation for injuries that are the fault of someone merely visiting the casino. For instance, suppose that a drunk gambler pushed you down a flight of stairs. The casino may be responsible if the staff realized that the individual was drunk and kept giving them alcohol anyway. That is negligent behavior that contributed to your injury.
Casino injury lawyers commonly see circumstances where negligent or reckless behavior by casino personnel indirectly leads to injuries, and they are skilled in representing such clients and getting them the settlements that they deserve.
What to Expect in a Casino Injury Case
Most casinos have hundreds of employees, and you will likely be contacted by one of them almost immediately after being injured in a casino. This is both good and bad.
It is good because it means you can get prompt medical attention. Most casinos have medically trained staff that can immediately evaluate your injury and potentially give you immediate care. This is important when you have been injured.
However, it is also bad because the casino is going to try to minimize its responsibility. Personnel may try to elicit statements from you that indicate this wasn’t the fault of the casino or may even try to get you to sign paperwork.
It is important that you sign nothing and make no statements. Instead, insist on getting medical attention from a hospital. While the evaluation of casino personnel can be helpful, it is critical to have a doctor evaluate you in a medical setting.
Once you have received medical attention, you need to immediately contact a Morgan & Morgan attorney. Casino injury lawyers are familiar with cases like these and can ensure you get the additional medical attention that you might need, as well as serve as a point of contact with the casino and the insurance company.
After you have hired an injury lawyer, the most important thing you can do is record your memories of the incident that caused your injury. The more information you can supply, the better your case can be investigated.
The insurance company will be investigating, too, but it isn’t legally bound to provide you with information that supports your case. Morgan & Morgan, on the other hand, will find such evidence and use it to get you an insurance settlement that protects your interests.
How Much Can I Expect From Casino Injury Settlements?
The value of a casino injury settlement is different for every case. It is higher when the casino has more responsibility and when your injuries are more severe or long-lasting. The only consistent thing is that settlements are generally higher than the initial offer made by the insurance company and usually less than you could get from a trial verdict.
Why Should I Accept a Settlement if a Trial Verdict Is Usually Higher?
There are two major reasons to accept a settlement. First, a settlement will be a lot quicker than a trial. Most settlements take a few weeks, at most, to get you paid. That is important when you need money quickly to pay for medical expenses.
Second, a trial verdict is not guaranteed. Even though a case may seem guaranteed, no lawyer wins 100% of the time. And if you lose the case, you get nothing.
Are There Casino Injury Lawyers Outside of Vegas and New Jersey?
While Las Vegas and Atlantic City have a lot of casinos, they aren’t the only places in the country with casinos. Most states now allow casinos, and there are also a lot of casinos on Native American lands. Morgan and Morgan has attorneys throughout the country that are familiar with casino injury law and are ready to help you.
Can I Recover Money I Lost at the Casino Tables?
Except in extremely rare circumstances, the money you lost gambling does not count as an injury. It is assumed that you willingly chose to gamble that money, knowing that you could lose it as part of the experience. If a casino cheated in some way or misrepresented the odds of the game, then you can file a lawsuit for damages. But winning such a case is incredibly unlikely.
Is the Casino Responsible if Another Customer Injured Me?
The casino likely has some responsibility if another customer injured you while inside the casino. The casino provides security and is supposed to protect customers, even from other customers. Failure to act promptly to an assault or failure to identify when someone in the casino becomes dangerous to others creates liability. Usually, the casino (or the insurance company representing it) will settle for a reasonable amount in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement.
How Much Does a Casino Injury Attorney Cost?
Most casino injury attorneys, including those from Morgan and Morgan, are paid on contingency. This means that the lawyer only gets paid if you get compensation for your injury. You don’t pay anything if your case is unsuccessful, so you have nothing to lose.
Furthermore, an injury lawyer only gets a percentage of the money won in your case. So no matter what, you always come out ahead if you win your case. This gives lawyers even more incentive to get you the highest possible compensation for your injuries.
Casino Injury Attorneys That Care About You
When you have been injured at a casino, it can seem like nobody cares about you. The casino is only interested in protecting itself from litigation, and some lawyers just want to get as much money from you as possible.
But Morgan & Morgan is a different type of law firm. Our first concern is your rapid and easy recovery. We will direct you to resources that help you find the right doctors and assistance.
If you need additional help, our staff is always happy to provide it, and when it comes to ensuring you are compensated for your injury, you can’t ask for better lawyers. Use our contact form today to get a free evaluation from a compassionate attorney.