Being injured while staying at a hotel, whether by slipping while walking near the pool or burning your hand on a heater that was too hot, creates an important legal question: Just who, exactly, is liable for the injury you’ve sustained? Here’s what you need to know.
Premises Liability
Determining who holds liability for an injury sustained at a hotel is often a matter related to premises liability law, an area of law that relates to the obligations that public locales owe to the people who occupy them.
In the case of a hotel, the establishment has an obligation to its staff, guests, and anyone else who is visiting the hotel for legitimate reasons. This primary obligation is to create a safe environment that limits the risk to people in the hotel, and it requires the hotel management to perform certain activities.
Rooms must be cleaned to prevent residents from potentially getting sick from past residents, for instance, and the hotel needs appropriate security as well. The hotel’s obligation also extends to places like the pool, where accidents are common. These should be protected by a lifeguard.
Another aspect of creating and maintaining a safe environment is that the hotel itself must be constructed following all safety regulations and should be maintained at that level.
That latter point is particularly important, given that, as a building ages, it degrades. A stair could become loose, or a section of the roof could start to crumble. Hotel management is obligated to identify these deficiencies as quickly as possible and perform appropriate maintenance to remove them. If that does not happen, the hotel becomes liable for any injuries someone suffers due to these safety issues.
As a general rule, a hotel should take every reasonable action to identify and remove dangers that could harm someone on its premises. If it fails to take reasonable action, it is potentially liable for any harm suffered by someone legitimately within the establishment.
Does This Mean the Hotel Is Always Liable?
No; quite often, the hotel will not be liable for an injury because the hotel owners understand their obligations and fulfill them.
For example, take the swimming pool, a dangerous area in most hotels. To avoid liability, hotel staff might dry the tiles around the swimming pool every half hour and put up signs warning people enjoying the pool not to run on the deck since the ground may be slippery. Finally, it will also assign a lifeguard during all swimming hours.
If you were running around the swimming area despite these warnings, you would be liable for your injuries if you slipped and fell and got hurt. Similarly, if an irresponsible individual pushed you into the pool, the hotel wouldn’t be liable.
A hotel can typically only be liable in two instances. The first is premises liability, as described above. The second is in any situation where hotel staff is negligent, causing you harm. If a waiter, for example, spilled hot soup on you, the hotel would typically be liable, even if the situation wasn’t otherwise unsafe.
If neither of these two instances describes your incident, someone else is likely liable for your injuries. In particular, if you were injured by chance and no one else was involved, you are likely to be liable for your injuries by default, unfortunately.
What to Do When You Sustain an Injury at a Hotel
If you have been injured at a hotel, document the injury as best you can. Take pictures of the harm you suffered and what caused it. You should also get immediate medical attention, as doing so creates tangible medical records that may prove important if the hotel is liable for your injuries. At a minimum, an experienced personal injury lawyer can use the documentation to determine whether you have grounds to take legal action. It is a lot easier to act when a hotel is liable if you have already gathered documentation for your lawyer to use.
Have Questions? We Have Answers
Now that you understand your rights after suffering an injury at a hotel, you can best take action if that happens. Consult with the experienced lawyers at the Law Offices of Glenn & West, LLC, and we will determine who’s liable for an injury you sustained at an Illinois hotel. To begin your personal injury law journey, contact our team today to schedule a one-on-one consultation.
