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Feb
2023

What Happens If You Are Injured in a Hotel in Florida?

on  Personal Injury

Miami is a vibrant and exciting city that offers various activities and experiences for tourists and residents alike. It is famous for its beautiful beaches, clear blue waters, and around-the-clock nightlife. Staying in a Miami hotel gives visitors easy access to the beach, allowing them to enjoy swimming, sunbathing, and other beach activities. It also provides them with a wide range of luxurious amenities such as swimming pools, spas, fitness centers, and fine dining restaurants.

From one-star motels to five-star luxury suites, injuries due to Miami hotel negligence are unfortunately common. 

If you or someone you love suffered an injury in a hotel, you have legal rights to seek compensation for those injuries. However, filing a claim against a hotel chain in Miami is difficult without a lawyer on your side. For this reason, injured hotel guests should contact a premises liability lawyer quickly to help them collect the money they need and deserve after a hotel accident. 

What Type of Accidents Can Occur in a Hotel?

Hotels in Miami and throughout Florida offer world-class accommodations with a tropical resort feel. Because of this, tourists and locals choose Miami hotels to spend their vacations. Accidents often occur with many staff members, management, business workers, and tourists sharing a small location. 

Some of the most common types of hotel accidents include the following:

  • Slip and fall accidents: Slip and falls are one of the most common types of accidents that occur in hotels. They can happen due to wet or slippery floors, uneven surfaces, or poorly maintained walkways. These accidents can result in serious injuries such as broken bones, head injuries, or spinal cord injuries.
  • Elevator and escalator accidents: Elevators and escalators in hotels can malfunction, causing severe injuries to guests. These accidents can happen due to equipment failure, improper maintenance, or human error.
  • Pool and spa accidents: Hotels with swimming pools or spas can be liable for accidents in these areas. Poorly maintained pools, lack of lifeguards, or inadequate pool safety measures can cause accident drownings, head injuries, and serious pool slip and fall injuries
  • Fire and smoke accidents: Hotels must have fire safety measures and protocols to protect guests during a fire. Accidents can happen due to malfunctioning fire alarms, lack of smoke detectors, or failure to evacuate guests promptly.
  • Food poisoning: Hotels that serve food can be held liable for food poisoning caused by contaminated food or poor kitchen hygiene.
  • Bed bug infestations: Hotels can be held liable for bed bug infestations in guest rooms. These infestations can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions.
  • Fitness center accidents: Hotels with fitness centers must ensure that the equipment is properly maintained and that guests are provided with proper instructions on how to use the equipment safely.
  • Parking lot and parking garage accidents: Hotels are responsible for maintaining safe parking lots and walkways and can be held liable for accidents in these areas. Negligent security can lead to numerous assaults, robberies, and even homicides in poorly lit and unsecured garages in Miami. 
  • Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Hotels should have CO detectors installed in guest rooms and common areas and maintain and check them regularly to ensure they are functioning properly.

When is a Hotel Liable for My Injuries?

Premises liability is a legal concept that holds property owners, such as hotel owners, responsible for injuries and accidents on their property due to dangerous or hazardous conditions. For example, if a hotel guest slips and falls on a wet floor with no posted warning signs and is injured, the hotel could be held liable under premises liability law. 

For a hotel to bear liability for a guest’s injuries, property owners and management must have been aware of the dangerous condition or should have been aware of it through reasonable inspection. They also have a legal duty to take appropriate measures to fix or warn of the hazard.

In other words, hotels are responsible if they knew or should have known about the danger and failed to take appropriate actions to prevent injury. This can include failure to place doormats at entryways to prevent wet floors during a rainstorm, failure to perform background checks on hotel staff, failure to handle food safely, and a wide range of other negligent behaviors. 

How Do I Sue a Hotel for an Injury?

Premises liability laws in Florida are complex. Injured hotel guests must hire a Miami hotel injury lawyer with the experience and resources needed to go up against large hotel chains. Suing a hotel for an injury is not easy. Your lawyer must gather evidence to prove that the hotel was negligent and that you suffered due to this negligence. This may include talking to eyewitnesses, getting statements from staff members or housekeeping services, reviewing video surveillance, or even gathering old emails and documents from past incidents that occurred on hotel property. 

Once your lawyer has built your case, they will begin negotiating with the hotel and their legal teams to ensure that you receive money to help you cover damages, including:

  • Medical expenses and bills
  • Future medical treatment needed
  • Lost wages, earnings, and benefits
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Pain and suffering
  • Property damage

Contact Our Miami Hotel Injury Attorneys Today

Did you suffer an injury in a hotel accident? Perhaps you slipped and fell at the pool or tripped on old carpeting. Maybe you got attacked in a parking garage or suffered food poisoning at the hotel restaurant. No matter how your injury occurred, if the hotel’s negligence caused you harm, you have a legal right to seek compensation.

Miami injury attorney, Prosper Shaked, works quickly to help injured Miami hotel accident victims and their families obtain compensation for their injuries after suffering in a hotel, motel, VRBO, Airbnb, or other vacation property. For a free consultation on your case and help understanding your legal options, call Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today at (305) 694-2676 or fill out our confidential contact form