When guests stay in a hotel or resort, they should be able to enjoy their stay without the fear of slipping and falling. Slip and fall accidents in hotels are not exactly uncommon. Hotel management plays a critical role in preventing these accidents, and their failure to do so can result in legal consequences.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident at a hotel, it is helpful to know the responsibilities of hotel management and how they can be held liable. An experienced Henderson slip and fall lawyer can guide you through your case to make sure that your rights are asserted and protected.
Responsibilities of Hotel Management in Preventing Slip and Fall Accidents
It is expected that the management will ensure the safety of guests throughout their stay in the hotel. That would mean that the property should be maintained and common areas regularly checked for any potential hazard leading to slip and fall cases.
The following are the main areas where it is expected that hotel management should act:
1. Regular Property Inspections and Maintenance
The management should, therefore, frequently check their premises for hazardous conditions like wet floors, uneven sidewalks, poor lighting in stairways, or broken handrails. The management should correct the hazardous condition promptly if found. Many slips, trips, and falls can be prevented by regular maintenance through cleaning, repair, and maintenance of flooring.
Should the management fall to carry on with these inspections or even fails to attend to such dangerous conditions, then they could also be found liable for such injuries.
2. Training the staff on safety measures
The employees of the hotel should be trained on how to identify and report any potential safety hazards immediately. These should include spills, loose tiles, and broken stairs; anything which can eventually lead to slipping and falling.
The management should also ensure that the various staff take precautionary measures in regard to wet floors, damaged walkways, among others, by ensuring immediate actions are taken in place.
Poor training of personnel on the security protocols would mean that some situations may arise in which hazardous conditions are not handled on time and may increase the risk of accidents.
3. Adequate Signage and Warnings
Properly posting signs in areas that may cause a slip and fall hazard, such as a wet floor or construction, is one of the major responsibilities of hotel management. The signage should be readable, noticeable, and understandable.
Hotel industry management should also ensure that warnings are posted on time when hazards are detected, such as spills in hallways, icy sidewalks, and wet bathroom floors.
When management fails to warn appropriately, they invite an accident to happen. They also invite legal liability if an individual is injured due to the lack of warning.
4. Eliminate Known Hazards in a Timely Manner
If management is aware of a hazard – either through staff reporting or previous guest complaints – then they have a legal obligation to act immediately. For example, if there is a patch of flooring in the lobby that is slippery or a handrail is broken in the stairwell, management should repair the hazard or rope off the area until such time as repairs can be carried out.
This can become a hazardous situation unless prompt action is taken to identify and correct it. If the hazard were not identified and left unattended for some period, for example.
5. Safety Policies and Procedures
Hotels should have clear policies and procedures regarding the prevention of slip-and-fall accidents, such as regular safety audits, prompt response for hazard elimination, and specific procedures in handling injuries on-site. It is incumbent upon the hotel management to see that these policies are in place and reviewed periodically for updating according to the prevailing conditions or regulations.
A lack of far-reaching safety policies may expose hotel guests to various accidents that could otherwise be avoided.
Hotel Liability in Slip and Fall Cases
Where the hotel management has been negligent in terms of maintenance of the facility, training of the staff, or elimination of hazards, the hotel may be held liable for any injuries sustained by the victim as a result of a slip and fall accident.
To establish liability in a slip and fall case, there must be proof that hotel management has breached its duty of care to safeguard guests. These actions can take many different aspects, which range from breach by failure to conduct an appropriate premises inspection or the proper action and warning to be placed concerning known dangers down to breaches within areas concerning appropriate employee training.