When is a Hotel Liable for Injuries to its Guests?

If you are injured as a  hotel guest while on hotel property, the hotel can be held liable for the injuries you or a loved one sustains. Under what is known as the common law there is a principal referred to as the “innkeeper’s duty” which states that “innkeepers (hotel owners)” are responsible for injuries to and theft from their guests.”

Under the modern law we refer to this type of liability as “premises liability.”  If you sustain personal injuries at a hotel in Nevada, contact our office for a free consultation to discuss a negligence claim against the hotel. Under the doctrine of “premises liability” the owner and employees of a hotel are required to maintain their property in a “reasonably safe condition, and to warn guests of hazards on the property that are not otherwise open and obvious.”

In order make a successful claim under Nevada’s premises liability laws, you will need to prove three facts as follows:

1. There was a dangerous condition on the premises;
2. The property owner or tenant knew (or should have known) about the dangerous condition; and
3. The dangerous condition caused your injuries.

The most common type of injury that occurs at a hotel results from a slip and fall on the premises. Slip and falls can result from wet floors, broken tiles, uneven floors, trip hazards, and a long list of defects. If you are injured at a hotel because of the hotels’ negligence, you are entitled to recover money for your personal injury damages including  medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and loss of future earnings. In cases where a hotels lack of reasonable care was particularly atrocious, a hotel may even be subject to punitive damages. It is important to contact an attorney if you are injured at a hotel even if you believe it is partially your fault. Under Nevada law, you can recover damages if you are less then 50% at fault for causing your injury.

In Nevada, hotel owners can be held liable for injuries to or theft from their guests. Hotels in Nevada are liable for injuries to their guests that are caused by unsafe conditions on the property. It is important to note that you do not have to be staying at the hotel in order to make a claim for injuries you sustain on the property. Once you walk onto the hotel property, you are considered a “guest” of the property. Hotel owners can also be held liable for actions of their employees.

Hotel Liability for Theft of Personal Property

Unlike injuries for negligence that cause personal injury while on the property, you must be a paying hotel guest to bring a claim against the hotel if personal property is stolen from your hotel room. If you are staying at a hotel and personal property is stolen from your hotel room, you may bring a claim of negligence against the hotel. In order to prove that negligence occurred, the following elements must be proven in court:

1. You were a paying customer of the hotel at the time the theft occurred;
2. The hotel owed you a duty of reasonable care, which in Nevada a hotel owes a duty of reasonable care;
3. The hotel breached this duty because of the hotel’s negligence, for example by hiring an employee with room access who has a criminal record for theft or ignoring numerous prior theft claims; and
4. The hotel breached the duty of care and allowed the theft to occur;

In general, theft claims against a hotel will be hard to prove. Most hotels now offer safes in the rooms for this reason. If a safe is located in the room and you fail to place any valuables in the safe that would fit, you may be found over fifty percent (50%) at fault for your own negligence in failing to use the safe. It is really the best practice to never leave valuables outside of a safe in a hotel room when you leave.

What You Should do At the Scene if You are Injured at a Hotel

Hotels will often fight hard in the investigation of injury claims. However, if liability can be proven for a severe injury, the hotel will often  pay for their mistake and settle the claim. If you are injured at a hotel, hire an attorney immediately. Take Photographs of the hazard that caused your injury, and be sure to take the following steps while you are at the scene:

1. Take Photographs of the entire scene near and around where the injury occurred;
2. Request any and all surveillance footage from the manager, and if you give a written statement, be sure to put this request in that statement;
3. Obtain all eyewitness contact information yourself, do not rely on the hotel to obtain this information;
4. Request a copy of the accident report while you are at the scene.

When is the Hotel Liable for my Injuries?

As previously mentioned, the duty a hotel owes to its guests is to meet the “legal standards of care to guests.”  Hotels in Nevada must take care of the hotel property in order to ensure that all guests are safe. The  following  is a list of customary duties hotels are responsible for to protect the safety of their guests:

1. A hotel should inspect the property regularly to  be aware of any unsafe conditions, make repairs promptly, and warn guests of any possibly unsafe condition until repairs are completed;
2. Make sure there is adequate security;
3. Keep the hotel and  hotel grounds in safe condition free of hazards for guests;
4. Hire enough staff and train and oversee them appropriately;
5. Take care of any health and sanitation issues, to include insect infestations such as bed bugs; and
6. Make sure all locks on guest room doors operate properly.

A Hotel Can be Liable for the Actions of its Employees

A hotel can be liable for the actions of their employees. If an employee causes injury to a hotel guest or steals items from a paying guest staying at the hotel, the hotel may be held liable for damages. It is always important to remember that you as the guest are required to prove that the hotel was negligent in causing your injuries.

The hotel is liable for actions of their employees under what is known in the law as the theory of “vicarious liability.”  This means that the hotel is responsible for the actions of its employees’,  when the employee completed the action within the “scope of their employment,” meaning in the course of their job duties.

Getting a Lawyer to Fight for You

At TheOneLawyer.com, we handle claims against hotels for severe injury and wrongful death personal injury claims. At TheOneLawyer.com we are lawyers who fight against large commercial venues like hotels, shopping malls, retails stores, grocery stores and all commercial business who may negligently cause injuries to their guests. We handle the claims for the  personal injuries of our clients sustained at hotels. If you have been injured or a loved one has been injured at a hotel, call us for a free consultation.

WHY I AM GRATEFULL 2022:  As a write this blog at Valentine’s Day, I am reminded that I am grateful for the love of my sons and of my friends. It is my hope that everyone reading this blog is grateful for the love of those closest. It is important for all of us to be the change we want to see in the world by making gratitude a part of each day. Accepting change, especially the change we do not want, with a positive outlook is part of being grateful. If we all practice gratitude more regularly, the world will be a kinder place. Each of my blogs will contain something I am grateful for and reviewed in our year end blog. I hope that you will also have a lengthy list by the end of 2022. I hope that by reflecting on gratitude, we will find the positive of everyday, even the days that are stressful.

We fight hard for our clients every day and we are grateful you have chosen TheOneLawyer.com to fight for you and your family after a car accident and help you recover for the injuries sustained in that car accident. At TheOneLawyer.com, we are here to serve our community and provide legal services in the Henderson and Las Vegas area and we are grateful for this opportunity. We are a boutique law firm providing experienced and personal representation to injured clients. At the Law Offices of Laura Payne, Esq. TheOneLawyer.com we provide professional and personal service to each and every one of our clients on various legal matters and have over 15 years of experience in reviewing insurance policies and in Nevada insurance law. If you have a question regarding any type of personal injury or paying your medical bills from an accident, please do not hesitate to call the offices of TheOneLawyer.com and speak directly to attorney Laura Marie Payne,  Esq. a Henderson Injury Attorney for over 15 years. Laura is recognized as one of Nevada’s Top 100 Lawyers. She has the experience and knowledge to obtain the maximum settlement you deserve. Please call our office if you or a loved one is injured. We can make sure that you receive the care you need and deserve and advise on how to preserve evidence.

At our office, we are experienced in helping injured victims get the compensation to which they are entitled. Insurance companies never have the best interest of the injured person at the top of their priorities. They want to pay as little on every claim as possible. Having worked for an insurance company as an attorney for 9 years before opening my boutique law firm specializing in helping injured people, I have reviewed thousands of auto accident claims and policy provisions.

At the Henderson and Las Vegas Accident injury law offices of TheOneLaweyer.com, Laura Payne, Esq. and her staff are here to help you and your family in the event that accidents and tragedies occur. For any of your legal needs, do not hesitate to contact our Henderson and Las Vegas Accident injury offices. TheOneLawyer.com is a boutique, family-owned law firm that specializes in helping injured people and the community of Las Vegas and Henderson Nevada with legal issues involving auto accidents, wrongful deaths, slip and falls, truck accidents, injuries to children, bicycle accidents, dog bites, product liability claims, and all types of injury claims. Please do not hesitate to call us anytime you have a legal question or you or a loved one has sustained an injury at 702-450-4868 and text 24/7 at 702-600-0032.