Hotel Injuries During Spring Break

Each spring, thousands of college students flood into Daytona Beach to enjoy the beach and each other’s company. Most of them will be staying at a hotel or motel—even if they intend to party all night long out near the water. It is not unusual for some students to get injured while staying at the hotel, but can you hold the hotel legally liable for your injuries?

Common Hotel Injuries

Hotels are generally safe. Nevertheless, thousands of people are injured each year in hotels. Some of the more typical incidents that cause injuries include:

Slips and falls or trips and falls
Falls down stairs
Dangerous products that malfunction
Assault

Hotel guests can suffer any of the following injuries, which can cost thousands of dollars to treat:

Burns
Broken bones
Concussions or other traumatic brain injury
Cuts
Strains and sprains
Nerve damage
Emotional distress

If you have been injured in your hotel, quickly document the injury. Take photographs of any hazard that injured you and seek immediate medical treatment. If you suffer serious cuts or bruises, you should take pictures of those as well. Your lawyer will find this information helpful when determining whether you have a valid legal claim.

Hotels Owe You a Duty of Care

In Florida, premises liability law imposes a duty of care that landowners owe their visitors. With hotels and motels, they owe their guests a duty to keep the property reasonably safe by fixing any defects or hazards they know about or should have known about. As part of their duty, hotel owners must regularly inspect their property so that they can find hazards. This means they need to go into rooms and follow up with any complaints from guests about unsafe furniture or electrical devices. Hotel owners cannot stick their heads in the sand and plead ignorance.

If a hotel or motel does not satisfy their duty of care, they have been negligent, and injured victims can sue the owner for compensation. There are many ways a hotel can be negligent, including:

Failing to keep the premises secure by hiring proper security or installing effective locks
Failing to remove known hazards, such as defective hair dryers, furniture, beds, or televisions
Failing to warn guests of hazards that can’t be fixed, such as shallow swimming pools

Because each case is unique, you should schedule a consultation with a Daytona Beach personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to review your case. Your lawyer can analyze whether the hotel owner violated their duty of care and whether you can hold them responsible.

Help is Available

If you can prove that the hotel’s negligence caused your injuries, you might be able to receive compensation. Injured hotel guests can receive compensation for:

Medical bills
Lost wages (if you work and your injury prevents you from returning to work)
Emotional distress
Physical pain

At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Florida personal injury lawyers are here to help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Resource:

orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2016/03/28/daytona-beach-witnessed-largest-spring-break-crowds-in-10-years