I Was Injured at a Hotel: Can I Sue?

Staples, Ellis + Associates discusses what you should do if you have been injured at a hotel.

Accidents happen every day. Some are the fault of the person who is injured, while others are the fault of the business where the accident occurred. In Florida, when an accident is the fault of a business, such as a hotel, the victim may be entitled to financial compensation. Therefore, if you’ve been injured at a hotel in Florida, please review the information below, and contact a personal injury attorney today to discuss your case. 

Premises Liability in Florida

Under Florida law, hotels are responsible for keeping their guests reasonably safe. In other words, hotels must take steps to warn of and prevent reasonable dangers. When a hotel fails to do this, it can be held liable for any resulting injuries. When filing a premises liability lawsuit against a hotel, an accident victim must prove that the hotel’s breach of duty directly caused his or her injury. Examples of breaches of this duty include: 

  • Failure to maintain, inspect, and repair appliances
  • Failure to keep floors dry and free of debris
  • Failure to regulate the water temperature to prevent burns

Additional Considerations for Slip-and-Fall Cases

There are additional considerations that injured parties must take into account for slip-and-fall accidents that take place at hotels. Generally speaking, when a substance on the floor of a hotel results in an injury, the injured party is required to prove that the hotel had actual or constructive knowledge of the substance and should have taken action to remove it. Constructive knowledge may be proven by demonstrating that the substance was on the ground so long that the hotel should have known about it.

In addition, constructive knowledge may be shown by proving that the condition that caused the injury occurred with regularity and was therefore foreseeable. An example of a regular event resulting in a wet floor would be the scheduled use of a sprinkler on the grounds of the hotel. In addition, Florida courts will examine whether the injury was foreseeable. If an injured party’s attorney can prove that the situation leading to the injury was foreseeable and preventable, then the injured party has a good chance of obtaining financial compensation for his or her injuries. However, anyone considering filing a personal injury lawsuit should first obtain the services of a personal injury attorney. 

Contact a Pensacola personal injury attorney 

If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident of any kind in Pensacola, Florida, you need an experienced Florida personal injury attorney on your side. Located in Pensacola, Florida, Staples, Ellis + Associates, P.A., has over seventy years of combined experience representing accident victims in Northwest Florida and Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident of any kind in Northwest Florida, Staples Ellis is here to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Please contact our office as soon as possible to set up a consultation with one of our talented attorneys.

Posted in: Personal Injury