Contributory Negligence in DC Hotel Accidents
When you are injured at a hotel due to another party’s negligence, it may seem reasonable to think you automatically have a case. However, some Washington, DC laws may bar your right to recovery. Contributory negligence in DC hotel accidents can destroy your ability to recover at trial despite the defendant being the proximate cause of your injuries. While contributory negligence can be a complete defense if the defendant utilizes it properly, some exceptions may apply. This is why you need the help of a skilled DC hotel injury attorney to assist you with your claim. Whether you have legal assistance may be the difference between maximizing your compensation and getting no recovery at all. When contributory negligence is at play, we may need to do additional investigating to uncover evidence that may aid our argument at trial.
Understanding contributory negligence is crucial for anyone involved in a hotel accident, whether you’re a guest, an employee, or a property manager. While our DC hotel injury lawyers have represented all sides of these accidents, this page is designed to guide victims of hotel negligence. Below, we discuss the most common examples of contributory negligence in hotel accidents and how your right to recovery might survive despite the law working against you.
Understanding Contributory Negligence in DC Hotel Accidents
Contributory negligence in a DC hotel accident, or any type of civil tort action, can bar recovery by the plaintiff if the plaintiff and victim are even 1% negligent in causing their injury. Thus, if you slip and fall on a slippery surface but were negligent in walking on that surface, and that is a proximate cause of why you slipped and injured yourself, you are fully barred from recovery. However, as we will discuss, there are exceptions that a plaintiff can utilize to still recover damages against a tortfeasor.
Examples of Contributory Negligence in Hotel Accidents
Below is a list of the most common examples of contributory negligence in DC hotel accidents. This is not an exhaustive list. A jury may find you contributorily negligent in a different part of the hotel. For a detailed and free consultation, contact our team of attorneys today.
Slip and Falls
If you are injured at a hotel in a slip and fall, you may have a claim against the hotel. However, you must not have been negligent yourself in slipping. For example, if you see a warning sign and decide to walk across the floor anyway, the defense could argue that you were negligent to walk across the floor, knowing it was wet. Further, common law holds that the hotel has fulfilled its obligation by warning you of the danger. On the other hand, if they know of the hazard and fail to warn you or clean it up, you may have a case against the hotel. Another way you may negligently contribute to your injury in a slip and fall at a hotel is if you behave unreasonably.
For example, if you are running through the lobby as your friend passes you a football, that is not behaving as a reasonably prudent person would. Moreover, that unreasonableness is a proximate cause of your injury. Accordingly, the defense can argue as an affirmative defense that you acted contributorily negligently and defeat your claim for recovery.
Fitness Center Injuries
A fitness center injury is a prime example of contributory negligence in DC hotel accidents. If you are using a machine, there is a chance you are using it negligently. Almost every piece of equipment in a hotel fitness center has adequate warnings. If it does not, we make a product liability claim for a warning defect. But if we make a claim against the hotel, we argue that the hotel failed to maintain the equipment properly. Sometimes, this is a legitimate claim and contributory negligence is not an issue. In other cases, if you are using a machine improperly and that improper use is the proximate cause of your injury, then you may not have a claim against the hotel for carelessness.
Bar Injuries
Bar injuries are infamous for contributory negligence. More often than not, the plaintiff is intoxicated when they get injured. If you are assaulted by security or another patron, the defense will be quick to point out how intoxicated you were and put you in a negative light for the jury. Additionally, if you are drunk, a jury is likely to determine that you are at least partially at fault for slipping and falling in the hotel’s bar. This makes proving these cases more difficult, even if you have a legal right to recover. Thus, these cases settle more often than most. Of course, a seasoned hotel injury attorney should never advise you to settle for less than your case is worth.
Pool Injuries
Contributory negligence in DC hotel accidents constantly comes into play for pool injuries. The key to a slip and fall case against a hotel is that the hazard must not have been obvious to the victim. If you were aware of the hazardous condition and still chose to walk through it and slipped, you do not have a case. When you are at a pool, there is a reasonable expectation to a reasonably prudent person that the ground around the pool will be wet. You are expected to understand that without the pool needing to put up a wet floor sign. Accordingly, it is not easy to win against hotels in slip-and-fall cases.
On the other hand, if there is a drowning at a pool due to negligent lifeguarding, then that is a case that should be pursued in many cases. Moreover, in Washington, D.C., having a lifeguard on duty is required. Accordingly, the hotel may be per se negligent if you or a family member drowns at a pool without a lifeguard at a DC hotel.
Exceptions to the Rule
The last clear chance doctrine, or humanitarian doctrine, is counter to the defense of contributory negligence in a DC hotel accident. It allows for recovery despite your negligence. The doctrine holds that the person with the last clear chance to avoid an accident who fails to do so is liable. This doctrine does not often apply in hotels, but it is possible. For example, suppose you are negligently walking towards a puddle, looking down at your phone. If you were not on your phone and you slipped and fell, you would not be contributorily negligent.
However, you are generally negligent if you are not looking where you are going. Meanwhile, if a hotel janitor sees you walking towards the puddle and he has a clear chance to warn you of the puddle and fails to do so, then you slip and fall, and your claim against the hotel may survive the contributory negligence defense.
General Guidance for Dealing with Contributory Negligence
The best guidance we can give you for dealing with contributory negligence in DC hotel accidents is two-fold. First, it is imperative to behave prudently. When you are on vacation, getting distracted and acting carelessly can be easy. However, behaving prudently is as important as ever when you are in a strange environment. The second general guidance is to speak with a hotel injury attorney immediately.
Contact an Attorney
If you are concerned about contributory negligence in DC hotel accidents, contact Gelb & Gelb immediately. Our attorneys offer free, 24/7 consultations at (202) 331-7227.