Injured at a Hotel? What You Should Know About Hotels & The Innkeeper’s Duty in Pennsylvania

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American law has its roots in English common law. Hundreds of years ago, in the days of horses and carriages, innkeepers were recognized as an important and necessary part of everyday life. There was no ability to make reservations by phone. Travelers relied heavily on inns for personal safety and security of goods.

Fast forward to modern time. The modern equivalent of an inn is a hotel, resort or motel. While much has changed in terms of liability for safekeeping goods and chattel, hotels, resorts and motels can be held liable when guests suffer physical injury. While of course, hotels are not required to guarantee safety of every guest, hotels are required to act reasonably to maintain the safety of guests.

How Guests are Injured at a Hotel, Resort or Motel

Each year, hundreds of people are injured in hotels, resorts and motels. In general, guests tend to suffer injury in one of three ways:

  1. fall down accident/maintenance related accident,
  2. security breach resulting in criminal activity, or
  3. assault/abuse by a hotel employee.

Under Pennsylvania and New Jersey negligence law, hotel guests who are injured in a hotel or on hotel premises may be able to hold the hotel establishment liable, if the hotel was negligent in some way. In addition, that negligence must have caused the accident or injuries. For example,

  • a hotel could be liable for negligent maintenance when a hotel guest slips and falls as a result of water accumulation in the bathroom or near an entry way;
  • a hotel could also be held liable when it fails to prevent reasonably foreseeable access by criminals;
  • a hotel could also be held liable when an overly aggressive or violent hotel employee assaults a guest. Liability in this kind of situation depends on whether hotel management had reason to know of the employee’s aggressive/violent tendencies. Suggested article: Assaults at Hotels, Malls and Stores

Related hotel liability articles:

Philadelphia Hotel Liability Lawyers

If were injured at a hotel, resort or motel  and would like to discuss your case with one of our hotel accident and injury lawyers, call Click To Call.  Our lawyers are available for a free, no obligation legal consultation, and can obtain special admission in other states, such as New York or Delaware, on a case by case basis.

Our hotel accident and injury attorneys serve victims in the following areas: Allegheny County, PA; Berks County, PA; Bucks County, PA; Chester County, PA; Delaware County, PA; Lehigh County, PA; Montgomery County, PA; Northampton County, PA: Philadelphia County, PA; Atlantic County, NJ; Burlington County, NJ; Camden County, NJ; Cumberland County, NJ; Gloucester County, NJ; Salem County, NJ; New Castle County, DE; Kent County, DE; Atlantic City, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Newark, NJ; Doylestown, PA; Media, PA; West Chester, PA; Norristown, PA; Camden, NJ; Wilmington, DE; Newark, DE; Georgetown, DE; and New Castle, DE.

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