Accidents and injuries occur because of hazards on various types of premises around Los Angeles. Visitors to the city, whether they are traveling from elsewhere in California or from an entirely different region of the U.S. or another country, can suffer different kinds of injuries at hotels and motels in Los Angeles due to hazards on the property. In many cases, the hotel may be liable for injuries resulting from defects or dangers on the property that the hotel either failed to remedy or failed to warn guests about upon arrival or through signage on the premises. If you were injured at a Los Angeles hotel, you may be wondering what you need to know about filing a premises liability lawsuit.
Elements of a Hotel Premises Liability Lawsuit
Before you move forward with a premises liability lawsuit against a hotel or motel in the Los Angeles area, it will be important to determine whether you can prove the required elements of a premises liability claim. In order to win a premises liability lawsuit against a hotel, an injured plaintiff must prove four essential factual elements:
1) Defendant owned or controlled the hotel property;
2) Defendant was negligent in using or maintaining the hotel property;
3) Plaintiff was harmed; and
4) Hotel negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.
Hotel negligence is generally understood to mean that the hotel failed to exercise ordinary care in maintaining the property, and in failing to exercise ordinary or reasonable care exposed hotel or motel guests to an unreasonable risk of harm.
Common Types of Hotel Premises Liability Cases
Premises liability lawsuits against hotels can take many different forms, and it is important for injured hotel or motel guests to understand the various ways in which a hotel can be liable for the harm. The following are common examples of hotel premises liability lawsuits that you may be able to file in Los Angeles:
- Slip, Trip, or Fall Accidents: These are the most common types of accidents on hotel premises. Slips, trips, and falls may occur, for example, in the restaurant area of a hotel due to a liquid spill, in the restroom of the hotel lobby due to recent cleaning of the floors and failure to warn guests about the wet floors, on the pool deck area, due to a loose or damaged carpeting, because of a broken stair handrail, or due to inadequate lighting in a walking path;
- Escalator or Elevator Accidents: Escalator and elevator accidents can happen in hotels when the hotel fails to have the elevator or escalator properly maintained when a defect exists in the elevator or escalator; or
- Negligent Security and Assault Cases: Hotels and motels can be liable for third-party assaults perpetrated against guests that occur on their premises when the hotel failed to ensure guest safety by installing or repairing door and window locks or installing lighting in parking lots.
Seek Advice from a Los Angeles Premises Liability Lawyer
If you were injured in a hotel or motel in Southern California, you may be able to file a premises liability lawsuit. You should seek advice from the Los Angeles premises liability attorneys at El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers. Contact us online today or by calling us at (213) 985-1120 to find out about filing a claim.