A vacation is supposed to be a break from everyday stress.
You check into a hotel, walk through the lobby, head toward the pool, or leave for dinner expecting the property to be reasonably safe.
Then your foot slips.
Within seconds, the vacation may be replaced by an emergency room visit, a broken bone, a head injury, missed travel plans, and questions about how you will get home or return to work.
Many people immediately blame themselves after a fall.
I should have been more careful. I should have seen the water. Maybe I was distracted.
But a fall at a hotel, resort, vacation rental, restaurant, or beach-area business is not always caused by clumsiness. It may result from a dangerous condition the property owner or operator failed to inspect, repair, remove, or warn guests about.
The important question is not simply whether you fell.
It is why you fell and whether someone responsible for the property had a reasonable opportunity to prevent it.
Not Every Fall Is Negligence
Hotels and resorts are not automatically responsible every time a guest is injured.
A premises liability claim generally requires evidence that a dangerous condition existed, that the responsible party created it or knew or reasonably should have known about it, and that the failure to correct or warn about the condition contributed to the injury.
The exact standards differ by state. In general, businesses that invite guests onto their property are expected to conduct reasonable inspections, maintain walking areas, address hazards, and provide appropriate warnings when a condition cannot be corrected immediately.
A hotel cannot guarantee that no one will ever fall. It should not, however, ignore a leaking air conditioner, broken stair, unlit walkway, slippery pool deck, or spill that employees had enough time to discover and address.
Start With Medical Care
Get medical attention before worrying about an insurance claim.
Falls can cause serious injuries even from standing height, including:
- Concussions and traumatic brain injuries
- Broken wrists, arms, ankles, or hips
- Knee and shoulder injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Torn ligaments
- Internal injuries
- Cuts, scarring, or dental injuries
Symptoms may worsen after the initial shock wears off.
A person who struck their head, lost consciousness, became confused, developed a severe headache, began vomiting, experienced weakness or numbness, or had difficulty walking should receive immediate medical evaluation.
Tell the provider exactly where and how the fall occurred. Do not minimize your pain because you do not want to disrupt the trip.
Report the Accident
Notify hotel or property management as soon as reasonably possible.
Ask for a manager or security employee and request that an incident report be created.
Obtain:
- The name and position of the person taking the report
- The report or reference number
- A copy of the report, when available
- Contact information for the property’s insurer or claims department
- Confirmation that photographs and surveillance video will be preserved
Provide accurate basic facts, but do not speculate or accept blame before you understand what happened.
Do not sign a statement that contains facts you dispute. Do not sign a release or accept a quick payment without understanding what rights you may be giving up.
Pool Decks and Water Areas
Hotel and resort pool areas combine water, crowds, food service, bare feet, changing elevations, and hard surfaces.
That does not mean every wet or slippery condition is unavoidable.
Potential hazards include:
- Standing water that does not drain
- Excessively slippery deck materials
- Broken or uneven tiles
- Algae or slippery buildup
- Missing slip-resistant mats
- Defective ladders or handrails
- Poor lighting
- Unmarked steps
- Leaking pool equipment
- Spills from a poolside bar
- Furniture or towels blocking walkways
Hotels should anticipate that water will be present around pools. Reasonable precautions may include suitable walking surfaces, drainage, inspections, maintenance, warning signs, and prompt cleanup of unusual accumulations.
A generic caution sign near the entrance may not be enough when the actual hazard is poorly visible, around a corner, or allowed to remain for an unreasonable time.
Bathrooms and Guest Rooms
Falls inside guest rooms may involve leaking showers, sinks, toilets, or air-conditioning units; slippery tubs; loose rugs; curled carpet; broken tiles; uneven thresholds; poor lighting; or unsecured grab bars.
Housekeeping and maintenance employees may have known about the problem through inspections, prior complaints, or repair requests. A hazard inside a private room is not necessarily hidden from the hotel.
Lobbies, Restaurants, and Breakfast Areas
Busy entrances, breakfast areas, and restaurants frequently involve spills, tracked-in rainwater, recently mopped floors, leaking beverage machines, worn mats, luggage carts, and cleaning equipment.
The length of time a condition existed may become important. Surveillance footage, cleaning logs, employee schedules, and witness accounts may show whether the hazard appeared moments before the fall or remained long enough that employees should have found it.
Stairs, Ramps, Elevators, and Escalators
Stairway hazards may include uneven steps, unstable handrails, worn carpeting, poor lighting, unmarked elevation changes, debris, or damaged step edges.
Elevator and escalator incidents may involve misleveling, sudden movement, defective doors, or inadequate maintenance. Building codes, accessibility standards, and inspection records may help determine whether these areas were reasonably safe.
Parking Lots and Outdoor Walkways
The hotel’s responsibility may extend to parking lots, sidewalks, and exterior paths. Hazards can include potholes, cracked pavement, broken curbs, poor lighting, missing railings, debris, mud, sand, algae, snow, ice, or unsafe transitions between surfaces.
Responsibility may depend on who owned, controlled, or maintained the area. Hotels often use separate parking, landscaping, snow-removal, and maintenance companies.
Beachfront Businesses and Vacation Rentals
Beach towns and vacation properties create additional seasonal hazards.
Guests may encounter sand tracked into entrances, water around outdoor showers, slippery boardwalks, deteriorated stairs, uneven pathways, poorly maintained decks, and dimly lit walkways.
Short-term rental hazards may include:
- Loose deck boards
- Missing stair rails
- Unmarked changes in floor height
- Slippery outdoor showers
- Broken patio stones
- Poor lighting
- Unsecured rugs
- Damaged balconies
- Leaking appliances or plumbing
Claims involving a vacation rental may require reviewing the responsibilities of the property owner, host, management company, rental platform, contractors, and insurers.
What Does “Should Have Known” Mean?
A property owner may argue that no employee knew about the hazard.
Actual knowledge is not always the only issue.
The question may also be whether the condition existed long enough or happened often enough that reasonable inspections would have discovered it.
Evidence may include:
- Prior complaints
- Earlier falls
- Maintenance requests
- Employee messages
- Inspection logs
- Surveillance footage
- Repeated leaks
- Worn or deteriorated materials
- Evidence that an employee created the condition
For example, a hotel may deny knowing about water near an ice machine. But repeated complaints, stained flooring, repair requests, and missing inspection records may show that the problem was not new.
A Warning Sign Is Not an Automatic Defense
A warning matters only if it is visible, clearly identifies the hazard, and gives guests a reasonable chance to avoid it. A caution sign around a corner, hidden by poor lighting, or placed far from the condition may be inadequate.
A sign should not become a substitute for fixing a hazard that could reasonably be corrected.
Evidence to Collect
Evidence is especially important when the injured guest will soon leave the city or state.
When physically able, photograph:
- The exact condition that caused the fall
- The surrounding walking area
- The absence or location of warning signs
- Lighting conditions
- Nearby leaks, mats, drains, or cleaning supplies
- Your injuries
- Your shoes and clothing
- The wider area showing how the hazard was positioned
Take close-up and wider photographs.
Also preserve witness information, the incident-report number, medical records, bills, reservation records, travel-change expenses, and communications with the property.
Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing. Do not wash, repair, or discard them.
Preserve Surveillance Video and Records
Hotels may have cameras covering entrances, lobbies, elevators, pool areas, restaurants, parking lots, and hallways.
The footage may show how the hazard developed, how long it existed, whether employees walked past it, and what happened immediately after the fall.
Video can be overwritten quickly.
A preservation request should identify the location, date, and approximate time and should request footage from before and after the incident.
Other important records may include cleaning and inspection logs, maintenance requests, work orders, employee schedules, prior incident reports, training materials, and contractor agreements.
Who May Be Responsible?
Potentially responsible parties may include:
- The hotel or resort owner
- The company operating the property
- A franchisee
- A property management company
- A commercial landlord
- A restaurant or retail tenant
- A housekeeping contractor
- A maintenance or landscaping company
- A pool management company
- An elevator service company
- A short-term rental owner or host
- A manufacturer of defective flooring or equipment
The brand displayed on the building may not be the same company that owns or operates the property.
Contracts, corporate records, insurance documents, and maintenance agreements may be needed to determine who controlled the area.
What If You Were Distracted?
Hotels and insurers may argue that the guest was looking at a phone, carrying luggage, wearing inappropriate shoes, or failed to see an obvious condition.
Do not assume that this ends the claim.
Many states use comparative fault rules, meaning responsibility may be divided among the parties involved. The exact effect depends on state law.
The guest’s conduct is only one part of the analysis. The property’s inspections, lighting, warnings, maintenance, and knowledge of the condition must also be considered.
Injured While Traveling Out of State
A vacation injury can create practical and legal complications.
The law of the state where the fall occurred may affect the claim. The property owner and insurer may be located elsewhere. Treatment may begin near the hotel and continue after the traveler returns home.
Keep records from every medical provider.
An attorney can help determine which state’s law applies, where a claim may be filed, which businesses and insurers are involved, what deadlines apply, and how to obtain out-of-state evidence.
Do not delay seeking advice simply because the accident happened far from home.
When Should You Contact an Attorney?
Consider speaking with an attorney when:
- The injury required emergency care or hospitalization
- Surgery or long-term treatment may be needed
- You suffered a head, spinal, or serious orthopedic injury
- The hotel refuses to provide information
- Surveillance footage may be erased
- The explanation changes
- The hazard had been reported before
- Multiple companies may control the property
- An insurer pressures you to give a recorded statement
- You are asked to sign a release
- The fall occurred outside your home state
A lawyer can help preserve evidence, identify responsible parties, obtain maintenance and inspection records, evaluate insurance coverage, and document the full impact of the injury.
Depending on the facts, compensation may address medical expenses, lost income, future treatment, rehabilitation, pain, disability, and other losses permitted under state law.
A Vacation Property Should Be Safe for Its Guests
Travelers should expect crowded pools, busy restaurants, and unfamiliar surroundings.
They should not have to expect broken stairs, untreated spills, leaking equipment, unsafe walkways, or hazards that employees repeatedly ignored.
After a serious fall, embarrassment can make people blame themselves and leave without asking what caused it.
Do not let that first reaction prevent a proper investigation.
If you were seriously injured at a hotel, resort, vacation rental, restaurant, or other property because someone failed to maintain reasonably safe conditions, Thomas & Wickenheiser can help you understand what happened and what options may be available. Contact us for a free and confidential consultation.
References
[1] Cornell Legal Information Institute, Negligence
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Facts About Traumatic Brain Injury
https://www.cdc.gov/traumatic-brain-injury/
[3] U.S. Department of Justice, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards/2010-stds/
[4] Thomas & Wickenheiser, Hurt at a Short-Term Rental Property?
https://thomaswicklaw.com/blog/hurt-short-term-rental-property/
