Our Maryland hotel injury lawyers have assisted victims of negligence inside and by hotels since our founding 70 years ago. We have made it our mission to hold any party responsible when it injures an innocent person in Maryland. In Maryland, tourism and business thrive. Whether you visit Baltimore, Bethesda, Annapolis, or Ocean City, there are plenty of sights to see. However, in each of these cities and the rest of the cities in Maryland, there are hotels run by negligent employees. An employee may act negligently due to inadequate training, a negligent hiring process, or simply a careless employee acting within the course and scope of his employment. Whether it’s a slip in a lobby, an incident in a hotel pool, or a security lapse leading to personal injury, serious injuries can occur, and the wrongdoer needs to be held accountable.
In almost all cases, our job as Maryland hotel injury lawyers is to obtain compensation for your injuries and assist you in navigating the complex claims process. The process can be overwhelming, especially if you are visiting Maryland from out of town. Fortunately, we have a depth of experience dealing with these cases when clients hail from all across the country. So long as the hotel is located in Maryland, a Maryland hotel injury attorney can assist you in making a claim. In the following sections, we will discuss the most common hotel injuries and how their causes can lead to a cause of action against the hotel. Additionally, we will discuss the legal responsibilities of hotels and the laws specific to Maryland. Investigating hotel injury claims can be time-sensitive. Thus, reaching out for legal help right away is critical.
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Any injury you suffer that is proximately caused by a hotel or hotel employee’s negligence may be compensable and is worth consulting with a Maryland hotel injury lawyer. There are infinite potential injuries you can suffer related to premises liability. Below, we discuss the most common hotel injuries and their causes.
A slip and fall can happen just about anywhere in a Maryland hotel. However, where it happens is critical to whether the hotel will be liable for your injuries. For example, if you slip and fall, injuring yourself right next to the pool, you may not have a case. The hotel is not liable if a jury deems a hazardous condition obvious. Or, the hotel can put a yellow “wet floor” sign on the wet surface. When you are by a pool, there is no need for a yellow sign because it is already obvious. Thus, you may be unsuccessful in a case analogous to this, and we may advise you against pursuing the claim. On the other hand, if you slip and fall, injuring yourself, on a wet surface in the lobby, you probably should pursue that injury claim against the hotel.
A hotel has a legal duty to inspect for hazardous conditions on a reasonable basis. In an area as busy as the hotel lobby, employees should frequently inspect for hazards like a wet floor. If you slip and fall, we will investigate the scene. You should take photographs and report the incident to hotel management. Often, an employee will let it slip that they had meant to clean up that spill but had not gotten around to it yet. In this instance, you likely have your case.
Beyond a slip and fall injury that may occur at a Maryland hotel, you may face a host of other injuries. If you or a loved one drowns at a pool at a Maryland hotel, you may have a case against the hotel if there is no lifeguard on duty. This may constitute per se negligence as a violation of Md. Code Regs. 10.17.01.40. Less likely but still possible in some cases is if the lifeguard fails to act. Negligence can occur due to a breach of a duty owed or an omission to act as part of a duty owed to a foreseeable plaintiff.
Our Maryland hotel injury lawyers have a wealth of experience handling fitness center accidents. The primary mode of pursuing a fitness center accident is due to improper maintenance of equipment. Most commercial gyms understand how to maintain equipment properly and have no problems. However, hotels may overlook this crucial safety concern. A failure to properly maintain equipment can lead to significant injury, especially for older or novice gymgoers.
Note that not all fitness center accidents are compensable. In many instances, a traveler at a Maryland hotel may injure themself. However, this does not mean the hotel is responsible for your injury. The hotel must breach some duty owed, either by action or inaction. While the fact that they have supplied you with exercise equipment is an actual cause of your injury, it is not enough to constitute a legal cause that justifies legal action.
There are two categories of security-related incidents our Maryland hotel injury lawyers pursue. The first and most obvious one is an intentional act by a hotel security agent that causes you harm. Typically, this occurs when the security guard loses their temper and acts out of anger. In this scenario, we pursue a civil battery against the hotel. The hotel is vicariously liable for the security guard’s actions because the guard is likely acting within the course and scope of his employment. This is distinct from a bartender who batters you. If that is the case, the hotel is not liable for the battery. However, they may still be liable for other reasons, such as a negligent hire.
The second category of security-related incidents is inadequate security. This may be due to negligent hiring by the hotel. Or it can be due to insufficient security numbers. If the hotel had reason to anticipate a large crowd of people and failed to supply sufficient numbers of security, the hotel may be liable for injuries you sustain.
Our Maryland hotel injury lawyers have handled countless injury cases in the state. We offer free consultations to anyone injured in Maryland. Call our office today at (202) 331-7227.