Slip and Fall Injuries at Resorts and Hotels

Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran

As a hotel guest, you expect to be safe. If you are injured in a fall, you are entitled to recover damages.

What Happened?

Common slip and fall injuries at resorts and hotels happen for a variety of reasons, and may or may not involve negligence on the part of the hotel or resort. Often, slip and fall accidents concern damaged carpeting, unsafe showers/bathtubs, failure to remove snow, ice, or water from parking lots, deck and diving board hazards around swimming pools, and poorly maintained equipment (such elevators, cleaning equipment, handrails, ski lifts, etc.) — but there are innumerable other possible causes for a fall at a hotel or resort.

Whatever the cause of your fall and injury, determining and proving negligence is the hard part, even though you may believe that your injury claim is obvious.

An slip and fall lawyer from Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. can meet with you at a time and place that is convenient and comfortable for you and your family — our office, your home, or some other location, including your hospital room.

After this free consultation, if we decide to work together, it will be under a contingency fee agreement, which means that we don’t get paid until we receive a settlement or jury award for you. In Michigan, contingent legal fees in personal injury cases are set by statute (MRPC Rule 1.5) and can be up to one-third of the recovery award or settlement.

Determining and Proving Negligence

Your personal injury claim will hinge upon whether the resort or hotel knew about the hazard that led to you tripping and falling and failed to do anything about it. An example of this is icy conditions on a stairway that were left untreated for several hours or a damaged carpet in your room that had obviously been a problem for a long time.

Another factor that is considered in determining negligence is whether the resort or hotel had control over the hazard that caused you to be injured in an accident. If a hotel employee spilled something on the floor and failed to clean it up immediately, and then you fell and injured yourself, the hotel would probably be found negligent because they are responsible for the employee’s actions.

Conversely, if another guest at the hotel created the hazard — and the hazard had not yet been reported to anyone before you fell — the hotel might not be held liable.

Proving negligence in settlement discussions with insurance company attorneys, or to a judge and jury in a court of law, takes significant legal skill. The attorneys representing the hotel or resort will be asking a lot of questions, too. What kind of shoes were you wearing? Had you been drinking alcohol? When and where did you receive medical attention? Why did you wait to receive medical attention?

Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. is a law firm dedicated to helping individuals who have been injured in a slip and fall accident — as well as other types of accidents, including medical malpractice — to recover fair and adequate damages for injuries and other losses. We’re ready to be your legal counsel and advocate during all settlement discussions with insurance companies, and if necessary file a personal injury lawsuit to recover fair and adequate damages.

What You Can Do to Help Your Case

Your actions immediately after your fall and injury can make a big difference in the strength of a subsequent insurance claim or lawsuit.

• See A Doctor. Even if you receive medical attention at the resort or hotel, see your own doctor — or see a doctor at a walk-in clinic — as soon as you can to have your injuries evaluated. Tell the doctor what happened, and how it occured. Seeing a doctor creates indisputable evidence that the injury occurred, and strengthens the case for proving premises liability. Never refuse an offer of medical attention, as this could jeopardize the strength of your claim.
• Take Pictures. Take photographs of what caused your fall and the area around the hazard. Take note of any warning signs — or lack of warning signs — in the area.
• Contact Information. Speak to anyone who witnessed the accident and get their names and contact information. Include the names and contact information for any hotel or resort employee who assisted you.

The resort or hotel will probably ask you to fill out an accident report. Particularly at larger hotels and resorts, this is a common practice because it puts upper management on notice that the accident occurred. If this happens, you are strongly advised to stick to the facts and avoid any extraneous commentary (i.e. “I’m fine.” or “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”) to a minimum.

Evaluating Damages

The more significant your injuries are, the larger impact they have on your life. How do you evaluate those damages for legal purposes? What are the long-term impacts? What are the medical bills you are facing? How has your injury impacted your life? Are your injuries temporary or permanent? Is there scarring or other disfigurements? Are you unable to work at the same job you had before your injury?

The slip and fall attorneys at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. can help you understand the short- and long-term impact of your injuries, and then fight on your behalf to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Senior partner Eileen Kroll specializes in medical cases, and her training as a Registered Nurse is invaluable in evaluating your injuries for legal purposes.

Before you consider any settlement offers, please talk with a slip and fall lawyer at our law firm.

Don’t Wait Too Long

It takes time to gather evidence, conduct interviews, and secure expert testimony, if necessary. If the out-of-court settlement process with an insurance company is unsatisfactory, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit is three years from the date of the injury.

Contact us anytime (24 hours) at 866-MICH-LAW or use our convenient online contact form to schedule your free consultation.

Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.