Slip & Fall Injuries at Hotels

A stay at a hotel is supposed to be a chance to relax and feel like you’re getting away from it all. People are likely enjoying a vacation/staycation and are looking forward to things like enjoying the pool, visiting nearby attractions, and maybe ordering some room service. Nobody checks into a hotel expecting that they might slip and fall during their stay, but falls are a leading cause of injuries that occur in hotels and other businesses open to the public, such as restaurants and retail stores. 

The majority of falls that occur in hotels tend to happen at the same level, meaning the person who fell wasn’t at an elevated height when the fall occurred. Common causes of slip/trip and fall accidents in hotels include: wet floors, damaged sidewalks and pavement in parking lots, ice and snow outside the building, poor lighting in stairways, and rugs with upturned corners. Falls in hotel room bathtubs/showers are another common occurrence. 

Hotels have a responsibility to make sure the premises are as safe as possible for the guests who stay there, but they’re not necessarily liable for all injuries that occur on the property, such as if a guest is injured as a result of their own reckless behavior. A key question is whether or not the fall was caused by something that was reasonably expected to be dangerous and if hotel employees had a reasonable amount of time to address the problem. 

For example, let’s say a hotel lobby has a marble or stone floor and the weather forecast says to expect strong thunderstorms late in the day. The storms are expected to be severe enough that local media outlets are giving them lots of attention and weather advisories have been issued. In that case, it would be very reasonable for hotel staff to make sure mats were placed in front of the entrance well before the rain starts so that nobody slips on a wet floor. If those warnings were ignored, and nobody who worked at the hotel made sure those non-slip mats were put in front of the entrance before the rain started, the hotel could be liable if a guest slipped on the wet lobby floor. But if a guest fell in a stairway where a lightbulb had burned out, and the light had only recently burned out and hotel employees weren’t aware of the problem, the hotel might not be liable.

Contact a Michigan Slip & Fall Lawyer

If you’ve been injured after falling while in a business of any kind, don’t hesitate to contact a slip and fall lawyer for help. In these cases, businesses will often try very hard to avoid responsibility for injuries and it’s important to have someone on your side who knows the law and can help you get the justice you deserve. At Scott Goodwin Law, you’ll be able to get help from a lawyer who has helped other people who have been in your shoes. Contact us today for a free case consultation and find out how we can help you.