​Is the Hotel I Stayed at Liable for My Injuries?

While hotels are often associated with fun and vacations, an injury could cause your exciting trip to take a turn for the worse.

If you’re injured at a hotel, you could potentially hold the hotel liable for your harm. Speak to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to determine whether you have a valid personal injury claim.

Causes of Injuries at Hotels

There is always plenty of bustling activity at hotels, from early morning to late evening. Because of this, accidents are commonplace at hotels and resorts of all kinds. These accidents—which can happen anywhere from lobbies to pools to gyms—result in various injuries.

Some of the most common hotel accidents and incidents that result in injuries include:

• Slip and falls
• Food poisoning
• Negligent security
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Lack of supervision at hotel pools
• Broken furniture
• Faulty electricity
• Damaged or lifted flooring and carpets
• Collisions involving hotel shuttles or valet

These and other events can cause hotel guests significant harm.

Injuries Resulting from Hotel Accidents

Because of the wide variety of causes of hotel accidents, your injuries will depend on the cause of your harm.

Potential injuries hotel guests can sustain include:

• Sprains and strains
• Fractured or broken bones
• Neck injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Internal injuries
• Amputation injuries
• Drowning

After receiving the required medical treatment, patients can recover from their injuries. But in some cases, injuries are severe enough to leave victims facing permanent, life-altering consequences and the need for medical care well into the future.

In the most unfortunate cases, hotel accidents can result in a victim’s death. Under these circumstances, the victim’s family could pursue compensation for their losses through a wrongful death lawsuit.

If you sustain injuries at a hotel and believe the hotel is to blame, consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

Guests Can Hold Hotels Liable for Their Injuries

While you can hold the hotel liable, a lot depends on the specific circumstances of your accident. For a hotel to be at-fault for a guest’s injuries, it must have played a part in what caused them.

If you’re injured at a hotel, don’t try to answer your own questions or make assumptions—schedule a consultation with a personal injury attorney. Because of their extensive experience, personal injury lawyers are best equipped to give you quality legal advice and determine whether you have a viable case.

Establishing the Hotel’s Liability

Holding the hotel responsible for your injuries requires proving that the hotel’s negligence ultimately led to your harm. Figuring out the exact cause of your harm can prove the hotel’s negligence, which your attorney accomplishes by satisfying the elements of negligence.

Determining the Cause of Your Injuries

The first step in a personal injury claim against a hotel is determining what caused your injuries. Fulfilling this step helps your personal injury attorney understand how your injuries came about. This step is also the first piece of the puzzle for holding the hotel liable for your harm.

Your personal injury lawyer will ask questions about your accident to begin piecing together how it happened. After getting first-hand information from you, your attorney may proceed to thoroughly investigate your accident for further details.

Evidence also helps answer questions regarding the cause of your injuries. The type of evidence that provides the most help usually depends on your accident.

Proving the Hotel’s Negligence

Proving the hotel was negligent is a vital step in your personal injury claim.

Hotels legally owe patrons a duty of care to keep the premises safe for everyone’s safety, whether you’re a guest staying at the hotel or just a visitor. Should they negligently breach this duty and a guest suffer injuries, they leave themselves open to liability.

Negligence plays a major role in personal injury claims. The term refers to the failure to act with the same level of care a similarly situated party would have used in the same circumstance.

To establish the hotel’s negligence, you must satisfy the necessary elements of negligence:

• Duty
• Breach
• Causation
• Damages

So for example, if you suffered a slip and fall accident because there was a large spill in the lobby, satisfying the elements of negligence may look like this:

• The hotel owed guests a duty to ensure the hotel lobby was safe, keeping guests free from harm
• The hotel breached this duty by not cleaning up the spill or putting signage around it to warn guests
• The hotel’s breach of duty was the cause of your slip and fall
• As a result, you suffered injuries and losses

Successfully establishing the hotel’s negligence can be tricky in some cases, though. Hotels have to be aware that a potentially dangerous situation has arisen. For instance, if you slipped and fell but the hotel was not privy to the danger that caused your fall, this fact could hinder your case.

Hotel negligence cases are not free of unique challenges and difficulties. Therefore, it is especially important to have a skilled personal injury attorney on your side, as they can handle any bumps on the road to fair compensation.

Time Is Limited for Hotel Liability Cases

A statute of limitations restricts the time a victim has to file their claim for injuries. In Virginia, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years after the date of the accident.

Failing to file your claim within two years can result in the forfeiture of your right to pursue compensation for your injuries and losses. Do not hesitate to discuss your situation with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to help ensure your case is handled in a timely fashion.

Discuss Your Case with a Personal Injury Attorney

If you have suffered injuries at a hotel, schedule a consultation with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. An attorney can review the details of your case and provide quality legal advice.