A serious injury can happen anywhere. You can be injured while walking down a flight of stairs, drinking coffee that is too hot, or swimming in a pool. While these injuries may seem like they have nothing in common, there is one place where you could be injured in all of these ways — a hotel.
Hotels are more dangerous than most people realize. Almost every hotel has:
- Parking lots or parking garages
- Restaurants
- Stairs or escalators
- Elevators
- Swimming pools or spas
- Exercise rooms
- Bars or alcohol
- Bathrooms
These are all locations where you could be injured by carelessness or negligence. Any accident could potentially be the fault of hotel staff or policies that aren’t properly protecting the health of customers.
If you have been injured in a hotel, never assume that it was merely an accident that could have happened to anyone. Contact a Morgan & Morgan injury attorney to learn how to sue a hotel for injury. Our attorneys will ensure that your rights are protected and you get compensation for your injuries. Contact us today for a free evaluation.
Types of Injuries
Because hotels have so many types of facilities and services, you are at risk of being injured in a variety of ways. Hotel policy is supposed to protect customers and hotel staff is supposed to follow that policy diligently. But all too often those policies or personnel fail and people are injured.
Slip and Fall Injuries
Slippery floors are particularly dangerous at hotels with pools. If the areas near a pool are not regularly mopped and dried, customers are likely to slip, injure an ankle, or break a bone.
Any area of the hotel could be a danger, but tiled floors and areas near stairs are the riskiest. If you’ve slipped and fallen due to lax maintenance, a Morgan and Morgan attorney will advise you how to sue a hotel for injury.
Parking Lot Accidents
Because hotels make less money from their parking lots than they make from rooms, most hotel parking lots are cramped and may be difficult to navigate. If you get into an accident in a hotel parking lot, the hotel may be partially responsible for that accident due to the design of the parking lot.
Your personal injury lawyer can help you determine which parties are liable.
Assault
You might think that if you are assaulted at or near a hotel, that is only the fault of whoever attacked you. But that might not be the case. If the hotel provided excessive alcohol to someone who was clearly drunk, it is partially responsible for you being attacked.
Similarly, if the hotel does not provide adequate lighting in secluded areas, it may be liable for an assault. If hotel staff are aware of dangerous areas and don’t provide adequate security or lighting, then the hotel is negligent.
The lawyers at Morgan and Morgan know how to prove that a hotel failed in its obligation to protect customers. We can help you sue a hotel for injury resulting from a lack of security measures.
Food Poisoning
Between bars, restaurants, buffets, and room service, hotels offer a lot of food to patrons. If that food isn’t properly cooked or uses expired ingredients, you might get sick.
A nasty case of food poisoning could send you to the hospital and keep you in bed for up to a week. You deserve compensation if food poisoning costs you medical bills or other damages.
Trip and Fall Accidents
Trip and fall accidents are similar to slip and fall accidents, except they result from something causing you to trip. Poor lighting, poorly designed areas, or equipment left in dangerous places can cause you to trip.
There might even be tripping hazards in your room that catch you off guard because you aren’t familiar with the layout. If the hotel isn’t warning you of these hazards and trying to prevent them, you can sue for an injury.
Exercise Room Accidents
Hotels usually have a policy that you use any exercise equipment at your risk. However, that policy doesn’t protect the hotel if the equipment is inherently dangerous or not properly maintained. If you have been injured in a hotel exercise room, speak to a lawyer to determine how to sue a hotel for injury.