Miami and the surrounding areas are home to hundreds of hotels, motels, resorts, spas, and other vacation or travel accommodations. Tourism is one of Florida’s top industries, and hospitality workers make up a huge part of Miami’s population. If you are one of these hotel employees or hospitality workers and you were injured on the job, call Miami hotel employee injury lawyer Prosper Shaked today.
Filing a lawsuit for your workplace injuries in Florida may be complicated, and you should always speak to an attorney about how best to file your injury case and fight to claim compensation from your employer or another responsible party to cover the medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering your injuries caused you. To schedule a free legal consultation on your injury case, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today at (305) 694-2676.
Suing for Workplace Injuries at a Hotel in South Miami
If you were injured while working at a hotel, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties to get compensation for the injuries and suffering you faced. In most injury cases, you sue the party who was directly responsible. This means that if you were injured because someone assaulted you at work or hit you with their car while you were working, you may be entitled to sue that individual. However, working for a hotel means that you might be able to sue the hotel when you face on-the-job injuries. Our hotel employee injury lawyer explains how these cases work in Florida.
When you file a lawsuit for injuries, you must prove who injured you and what they did to cause your injuries. If you were injured by the hotel you work for, you must show how hotel employees or management contributed to your accident. For instance, if the hotel left dangerous conditions on the property that caused you to slip and fall or suffer electrocution, you may be entitled to sue them for their fault in causing the accident. If someone else caused the injuries, you can generally sue them directly for injuring you through intentional acts or negligence.
Workers injured on the job in Florida might have a tough time filing their injury case as a lawsuit. Workers’ compensation rules in Florida often require you to file your case through workers’ compensation instead of filing a lawsuit. However, these rules do not always cover every employee and sometimes fail to fully compensate you for the injuries you face.
Some workers are not covered by workers’ comp. and always have the right to sue. Generally, independent contractors and other self-employed workers who treat the hotel as a client are not covered by workers’ comp. rules and may be entitled to sue the hotel for any injuries they suffered on-site because of the hotel’s negligence. Additionally, undocumented workers and casual, part-time workers might not be covered by workers’ comp. if they are not properly recorded as employees. This might entitle them to sue the hotel as well. Talk to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit if you are an undocumented worker.
Moreover, workers’ comp. rules typically allow you to file a lawsuit for injuries if a third party was responsible. This means that if you were injured by a hotel guest, either through intentional acts of violence or because of accidental injuries they caused, you can generally sue them for damages. You can also typically sue your employer if they committed an act of workplace violence against you, regardless of workers’ comp. coverage. Lastly, you can usually sue the manufacturer of a defective product you used at work since the manufacturer would qualify as a third party.
Damages for Hotel Employees Hurt at Work
Hotel employees injured at work face multiple areas of damages that they may claim compensation for in court. Generally, compensation in a personal injury lawsuit includes two basic types of damages: economic damages, which cover the financial costs that result from the injuries, and noneconomic damages, which cover the intangible harms such as physical pain and mental suffering.
Insurance coverage may be available to pay for economic damages, but the damages covered through insurance claims are often lower than the damages you need. Economic damages usually include medical expenses from the medical care you received because of the accident as well as lost wages from missed work. If your injury was severe, such as a brain injury or a spinal injury, you could face expensive medical care bills. More severe injuries may also leave you unable to return to work for a prolonged period, or permanent disabilities could mean you cannot work at all.
All of these medical bills and lost wages should be claimed – but insurance coverage usually pays for only a portion of these damages. Hotels and other corporations and individuals might also try to reduce the damages they pay if you take a settlement for your injuries, so it is vital to review any settlement offers with a lawyer.
Pain and suffering damages attempt to pay you back directly for the physical pain and mental suffering with more severe injuries being worth more. These damages are typically unavailable in an insurance or workers’ comp. claim, so you should discuss your case before accepting any payments from these policies.
Call Our Miami Hotel Employee Injury Lawyer for a Free Legal Consultation
If you or a loved one was hurt while working at a hotel in the Miami area, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today. Miami hotel employee injury attorney Prosper Shaked may be able to take your case and fight to get you compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering after a serious on-the-job injury at a hotel. For a free legal consultation and to learn more about your right to sue for workplace injuries at a hotel, call our law offices today at (305) 694-2676.