Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere, often with little warning and resulting in severe personal injury. If you are staying at a hotel, the possibility of a slip and fall accident exists whether you are there for business or pleasure and can severely dampen your itinerary. A severe injury caused by a slip and fall accident at a hotel can also open the possibility that there will be delays regarding your injury, along with mounting medical bills associated with your personal injuries.
If you have been involved in slip and fall that caused an injury at a hotel, you may want to research the benefits of having legal representation against the hotel that was clearly or implicitly responsible for fall and injury.
A competent slip and fall injury lawyer can help you get the compensation for which you are entitled for your physical, emotional, and financial damages.
Hotel Slip and Fall Accident Causes
Hotel buildings are by nature susceptible to slip and fall accidents and safety hazards that if not corrected in a timely fashion can result in serious physical injury. These mishaps develop from a variety of safety risks, including poor lighting, slippery floors, wet tiles, damaged flooring or stairs, loose carpets, recently waxed floors or stairs, unsalted walkways, and other hazards.
The following are common slip and fall hazards at hotels and resorts of which you should be aware:
- In rainy or snowy weather conditions, guests are likely to carry water, mud, and sludge into the hotel on their shoes and clothing, which can result in slippery surfaces. Oftentimes, hotel employees may not be diligent enough to clean any potential surface hazard at the hotel. Additionally, inclement weather conditions can also create hazards outside of the hotel or resort, and if hotel staff neglects to salt the steps leading into the building, a guest may slip on a patch of ice and seriously injure themselves.
- Mopped or waxed floors can also create slip and fall accidents because they tend to be slippery. The hotel should warn guests of the surface with a warning sign to avoid liability from guests slipping and falling because of recently cleaned floors and injuring themselves.
- Parking lots can also create slip and fall hazards because guests may fall from cracks in the sidewalks or potholes in the parking lot. In addition, insufficient lighting in the parking lot can enhance the prospects of you being involved in a slip and fall accident at a hotel.
- Flooring deterioration can cause guests to easily trip over torn carpeting or slip on a rug that is not held in place, along with visitors losing their balance if the wooden floorboards inside a hotel or resort are uneven. To avoid slip and fall accidents and legal liability, hotel and resort property owners must maintain safe conditions on their premises.
What to Do after a Slip and Fall Accident
If you were injured at a hotel or resort, you should document the details of your accident. Record the testimonials and contact information of those who saw the fall. Make sure to document the names of any employee who assisted you and record any medical attention you received from staff members. If there were no warning signs in the immediate vicinity of where the accident occurred, take photos clearly showing the error. File an official accident report with the hotel as well, even if you believe that your injuries are not serious. Oftentimes adrenaline can help mask the severity of how hurt you really are until hours or days later.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
Slip and fall mishaps can cause a multitude of physical injuries, including cervical and spinal injuries, bone fractures, joint dislocations or sprains, concussions, bruises and contusions, bleeding, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and other trauma. Often, medical attention will be needed to treat these injuries; however, some slip and fall accidents can result in permanent disability or even death.
Broken bones, bruises or abrasions, spinal cord injuries, and head trauma are the most common injuries associated with slip and fall injury. Although these injuries can be consequential, you should not have to suffer for the rest of your life because of the hotel staff and management. Consulting a personal injury lawyer will be a wise decision on your part because they can determine the exact damages you have suffered, including compensation for missed work, pain and suffering, and medical costs.
Considering Pursuing Legal Action
If you have evidence that the hotel organization’s negligence resulted in the accident directly or indirectly, you can seek legal action against them. You are going to want to be compensated with fair financial compensation for your injuries against the negligent parties involved. Slip and fall accidents that take place in a hotel fall under premises liability law, which states that property owners, commercial hotel owners, and management are accountable to provide adequate safe conditions for all guests and visitors because a violation of this duty of care might result in slip and fall accidents.
Also, there is the burden of proof to show that the hotel staff or owners should have been aware of safety hazards on site, along with their failure to take appropriate measures to remedy potential dangers that can be the cause of your accident and injuries. It is worth noting that you can sue the hotel if you share part of the liability for the accident; however, the compensation you receive for your damages will diminish according to the role you had in creating the accident.
Mount Laurel Slip and Fall Lawyers at the Law Office of David S. Rochman Advocate for Clients Who Had Slip and Fall Accidents
If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident because of the negligence of a hotel in not dutifully maintaining safe premises, the Mount Laurel slip and fall lawyers at the Law Office of David S. Rochman will build a formidable case on your behalf. Call us at 856-751-2345 or contact us online today to schedule a free consultation. Located in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, we serve clients throughout Mount Laurel and surrounding areas.