Is The Hotel Responsible If You Slip And Fall In Their Shower?
Hotels are a place for rest and relaxation, and being injured on hotel property is typically the last thing on a vacationer's mind. Unfortunately, not every hotel puts guest safety at the forefront. Hotel showers can often be slippery as a result of poor maintenance or lack of safety features, resulting in a hazardous situation for guests. If you were injured after slipping in a hotel shower and the hotel was negligent in keeping it safe for its guests, you may have a personal injury case against them. Below, you'll find more information about when hotels may be responsible for injuries sustained after slipping and falling in the shower.
Was the Hotel Negligent in Keeping the Shower Safe?
Hotel owners have the legal responsibility to ensure that the hotel is a safe place for guests to stay, which is a legal concept called premises liability. As part of this responsibility, they need to minimize the chance that any guest will slip in the shower and hurt themselves. This can include installing handrails near the shower in order to help guests steady themselves or placing a bathmat in the shower to provide a slip-resistant surface. If safety features are absent, then the hotel owner can potentially be found negligent for not providing them to guests—it makes using the hotel shower hazardous.
In addition to installing safety features, hotel owners also need to keep the showers in good condition. Old tile flooring can become extremely slippery as the surface is worn down, and this is especially true when tile cleaning products have been recently applied to it. If the hotel allowed its shower flooring to deteriorate to the point where it's unsafe for guests to use, then they may also be found negligent in maintaining a safe premises for guests.
Did the Hotel Know About the Unsafe Shower?
Importantly, negligence requires that the hotel knew about the slippery shower conditions and failed to remedy them. Hotels aren't expected to automatically know about all potential safety hazards.
Thankfully, it's often easy for a personal injury lawyer to prove that the hotel owner knew about the slippery shower. Hotels constantly look for feedback from guests, and there's a chance that previous guests complained about how slippery the shower in the room was. In addition, guests may have complained in the past about the shower using online hotel review sites. If the hotel knew about the problem and didn't improve shower safety (for example, by replacing the flooring, putting up a warning sign or adding handrails), then there's a good chance that they can be found negligent in a personal injury case.
If you slipped in a hotel shower and suffered injury as a result, you should contact a personal injury lawyer in your area. If it can be proven that the hotel was negligent in keeping its shower safe for guests to use, you'll likely receive compensation for the medical bills you incurred treating your injury, and you can also receive additional compensation for the pain and suffering that followed.