North Carolina recognizes premises liability claims for slip and fall incidents at hotels. You may pursue a claim if the hotel exposed you to an unreasonable danger or failed to warn you of a hidden danger. The injured person must have been lawfully present on the property, and the dangerous condition must have been the cause of the slip and fall.
Our experienced Gastonia premises liability lawyers at Horton & Mendez, Injury & Car Accident Attorneys explain premises liability and hotel injury compensation.
Injured at a Hotel? Slip and Fall Premises Liability Compensation
When you stay at a hotel, you expect the property to be safe. When a slip and fall occurs, you may suffer injuries, incur medical bills, and experience pain and suffering. The accident can stop you from doing things you need to do, including going to work and social events.
You may wonder if you can sue for a slip and fall at a hotel.
If the hotel is legally responsible for the slip and fall, you may bring a lawsuit. They may be legally responsible for exposing you to an unreasonable danger. What’s dangerous depends on the situation.
The type of case for a hotel slip and fall is a premises liability claim. The purpose of the claim is to award compensation to the injured person. The injured person must initiate their compensation claim.
Common Hotel Hazards That Lead to Slip and Fall
- Cluttered common spaces, including the reception, lounge, and breakfast areas
- Railings and handles in showers and bathtubs that can’t support weight
- Broken or even flooring; rugs and carpet that are tattered, frayed, or in overall disrepair
- Precipitation (e.g., rain) coming in the doors that isn’t adequately cleaned up
- Banquet or conference set-ups with long table coverings that hide obstructions
- Slippery areas around the pool
- Jostling of large crowds
- Inadequate lighting
- Taking too long to clean up a spill
- Reception areas that are poorly designed, cluttered with plants and stands, or that otherwise pose a hazard
- Malfunctioning elevators and escalators
- Inadequate railings and barriers
- Stairwells that are in disrepair or cluttered
- Shower or sink design that allows water to spill on the floor
When Is the Hotel Legally Responsible for Your Injury?
A hotel must take reasonable steps to prevent slip and fall accidents. There are two ways liability may result.
Duty to correct a danger
A hotel has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to correct dangerous conditions. A hotel may be liable if it knows about a dangerous condition. They may also be liable if they should have known about the dangerous condition, based on how obvious it is or how long it has been present.
For example, there is a storm, and a tree falls over the sidewalk near the entrance to the hotel. Within a few hours, it may not be reasonable to expect the hotel to have cleared the tree. But if the tree is still there several days later, the hotel may be liable for a slip and fall.
Failure to warn
Another way that a hotel may be responsible for a slip and fall injury is by failing to warn of a hidden danger. For example, the stairwell railing may not be secure. Maybe it came loose previously, or there was a prior report of a fall. But the railing looks sound. Rather than warning guests that the railing can’t bear weight, they continue to allow guests access as normal. In this case, if a slip and fall occurs, the hotel may be liable for failure to warn.
In the example of the tree on the sidewalk, a way the hotel may reduce its risk of liability, especially in the short term, would be to warn guests or route them around the danger. They could place warning signs and ropes near the tree, as a temporary measure.
Trespassing
For these standards to apply, the person must be lawfully on hotel property. A landowner, including a hotel, does not owe a duty of care to a trespasser. The only situations where a trespasser may have a hotel slip and fall lawsuit are because of intentional harm, negligence towards a trespasser in peril, or harm to a trespassing child because of an artificial condition that is attractive to a child. (See N.C.G.S. Chapter 38B. Trespasser Responsibility.)
The Importance of Proving Negligence or Unsafe Conditions
Slip and fall hotel liability is not strict liability. The hotel is only liable for negligence or other legal fault. Because negligence is a varying standard and specific to the situation, it’s important to provide sufficient evidence to prove your case. You must establish what the conditions were and why they were too dangerous. You must also prove that the unsafe condition is the cause of injury.
Evidence You Need To Support Your Claim
It’s important to gather evidence of the unsafe condition. This can be done with witness testimony, photographs, videos, and hotel maintenance records. An incident report may document the date and time of the incident. Other incident reports may establish a pattern and knowledge of the danger by the hotel. You can use formal legal discovery to gather hotel records. Accident reconstruction and expert testimony may also help establish the standard of reasonable care.
Types of Compensation You May Be Entitled To
If you’re injured at a hotel, compensation may include both economic and non-economic losses.
Compensation is not limited to only immediate medical bills. You can look at the entire situation, including financial losses, lost wages, and future costs. In addition, you may receive compensation for intangible losses, such as pain and suffering and lifestyle changes.
Reporting the Incident to Hotel Management
If you’re injured in a slip and fall at a hotel, contact emergency responders first, if necessary.
Report the incident to hotel management. Be as calm as possible. Make a detailed statement of what happened, indicate you are injured, and note witnesses. Don’t speculate about things you don’t know.
Contact an Experienced Gastonia Premises Liability Lawyer
If you have been hurt in a slip and fall at a hotel, you may pursue a premises liability claim.
Horton & Mendez, Injury & Car Accident Attorneys, represent victims of hotel slip and fall accidents. Contact us now.
