Slip And Fall Accidents: Is The Hotel Negligent?
Posted on: 24 April 2019
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When staying at a hotel, guests expect to be pampered; guests do not expect to suffer an injury. However, for the countless number of hotel patrons who slip, fall, and injure themselves — the ideal scenario does not come to fruition. If you have the unfortunate advantage of being in this group of people, proving negligence is especially important if you want to be successful with your injury claim.
Failure to Protect
Business owners are required to do more than provide their customers with a service or good they pay for. Business owners also assume a legal responsibility to protect the patrons that visit their property. When a guest suffers from a slip and fall injury because the hotel did not deliver on this responsibility — the hotel can be found negligent.
Loose tiles on the pool deck, a failure to display a "wet floor" sign, and snagged carpet on a stairwell are just some scenarios that represent a hotel that is not appropriately meeting their requirement to protect their guest from injury.
Guests' Responsibility to Safety
A responsibility to safety is not exclusive to the hotel and its management; guests are also expected to take precautions for their safety. If a slip and fall injury is the result of a careless action by a hotel guest, they might not have a legal ground to find the hotel negligent.
An example of this type of behavior would be an individual who runs around the pool deck, slips, and injuries themselves. In this scenario, the guest is well aware of the danger but makes a conscious decision to ignore it, and as a result, hurts themselves.
Injury or Harm
If you slip and fall, even if there is proof that the hotel was acting at least partially negligent, this factor alone does not mean that you have a solid personal injury case. You must suffer an injury or some form of harm for a claim to be successful. In terms of an injury, a broken bone, sprained ankle or another injury would fall into this category.
However, the category for harm is broader. Harm could mean missed time from work or an inability to function within your relationships in the same manner you did before the accident. If your case is absent of these elements, achieving a successful outcome for your claim will be very difficult.
When it comes to personal injury claims, proving negligence is the most crucial step. Make sure you review every element of negligence, as it pertains to your claim, for the most favorable outcome. For more information about slip and fall accidents, contact an attorney near you.