1. Negligent Security Claims are Personal Injury Lawsuits

Negligent security claims filed against hotels and motels are types of personal injury lawsuits. As such, the statute of limitations for most other types of personal injury cases will apply.

2. Hotel or Motel Can be Liable for Failing to Take Adequate Security Measures

In a negligent security claim against a hotel or motel in Southern California, the injured person is holding the business accountable for harm caused by another person’s criminal conduct as a result of that business failing to take adequate security measures.

According to the California Civil Jury Instructions for these types of cases, an owner of a hotel or motel “must use reasonable care to protect patrons/guests from another person’s criminal conduct on his/her/their/its property if the owner can reasonably anticipate that conduct.” The instructions clarify that “a business owner or a landlord has a duty to take affirmative steps to protect against the criminal acts of a third party if the conduct can be reasonably anticipated.”

3. Many Different Types of Inadequate Security at California Hotels and Motels

There are many examples of inadequate security that result in assaults and other criminal actions by third parties, such as:

• Failure to repair broken locks on doors or windows;
• Failure to repair broken security system;
• Inadequate or lacking security cameras;
• Failure to have adequate lighting in the parking area; or
• Inadequate security guards on the premises.

4. You Can Still File an Assault Civil Claim Against the Party Who Perpetrated the Assault

Filing a negligence claim against a hotel or motel for negligent security will not prevent you from filing an additional civil lawsuit against the person who perpetrated the assault or other criminal conduct.

5. You Must File Your Negligent Security Lawsuit Within Two Years

Most hotel negligence lawsuits based on a theory of negligent security must be filed within two years from the date of the assault on the hotel property. Under California law, the clock on the two-year statute of limitations begins ticking on the date you were injured, and if you fail to file your lawsuit before the clock runs out, your claim can become time-barred.

Contact a Hotel Negligence Attorney in Vista

If you were injured at a hotel or motel in San Diego County as a result of hotel or motel negligence, you may be eligible to file a negligent security claim. One of our experienced Vista hotel negligence attorneys can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about how we can help.

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Watch Kids Around the Pool Area

If you are staying at a hotel or motel with a pool, it may be tempting to say “yes” when your kids ask if they can go down to the pool on their own. Drowning accidents are much too common at hotels and motels across the country, and most hotels do not have lifeguards on duty who can provide any kind of supervision. Even if you have teenagers, it is important to take precautions and to supervise your children while they are swimming.

Beyond the risks of drowning, it is also important to avoid running on a wet pool patio or deck. These areas can be slick, and a serious slip and fall injury may occur.

Take Precautions on Staircases

Whether you are going up or down an interior or exterior staircase at a hotel or motel, you should always hold the handrail and avoid running. Slips and falls occur with some frequency on staircases, and injuries can occur more frequently when stairs are not properly lit, or carpet or flooring on the stairs is torn or damaged.

Avoid Elevator Injuries

Many hotels have elevators, and it is essential to keep in mind that elevators can pose injury risks for passengers. You should always watch your step when you step into the elevator, recognizing that there may be a gap between the floor of the hotel and the elevator car. Elevators can also pose injury risks when passengers get limps caught in closing doors. Accordingly, do not attempt to quickly get into an elevator as its doors are closing. Finally, elevators have weight limits, and it is critical to avoid overloading an elevator. If a particular elevator looks very crowded, you should wait for the next elevator car.

Check Window and Door Locks

Third-party assaults can occur at hotels and motels, especially when a hotel room has a broken window or door lock. Before you settle in for the night, you should check the windows and doors to ensure that everything is secure.

If any unreasonable hazards result in an injury, you may be able to file a negligence claim against the hotel or motel under California premises liability law.

Contact Our Poway Hotel Negligence Attorneys

If you or someone you love sustained a serious injury at a hotel or motel in Southern California, you may be eligible to file a claim for compensation. One of our experienced Poway hotel negligence lawyers can evaluate your case for you today and can discuss your options for filing a claim. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

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Hotel Negligence Can Result in Many Types of Injuries

There are many different types of injuries that can result from hotel or motel negligence. For example, you or your child might sustain a serious injury as a result of a drowning accident near an unattended hotel or motel pool. Or you or another guest might sustain a serious injury in a slip and fall accident resulting from damaged flooring or a broken outdoor light that the hotel maintenance staff failed to replace. Slips and falls at hotels and motels can also occur in breakfast areas, at bars, and around pool decks due to liquid spills. At the same time, hotels may also be responsible for third-party assaults that happen because of negligent security—such as a hotel’s failure to repair a damaged door lock or window in your room.

Comparative Fault Can Affect Your Ability to Recover Damages

Under California law, if you are also partially to blame for the accident that happened at an Escondido hotel, the hotel can raise the issue of comparative fault and your damages award can be reduced by your portion of fault.

You Will Likely Need to File Your Lawsuit Within Two Years From the Date of Injury

Every personal injury lawsuit, including hotel and motel negligence claims, have a specific statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit. Once the clock on the statute of limitations runs out, you will most likely have a time-barred claim and will not be able to obtain financial compensation by filing a civil lawsuit. While there are some exceptions, under California law, most hotel and motel negligence lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date of the injury.

Contact Our Experienced Escondido Hotel Negligence Attorneys

Nobody books a hotel room with the expectation that a serious or deadly injury will occur in the hotel room or elsewhere on the property. However, from dangerous slip and fall or drowning accidents near hotel or motel pools to negligent security injuries in hotel rooms, person injuries happen more often than you might think. One of our experienced Escondido personal injury lawyers can speak with you today about your options for filing a claim for financial compensation. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about the services we provide to injury victims and their families in Southern California.

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This is a complicated question, and it ultimately depends upon a number of different factors. We will provide you with some clarifying information below, but it is important to speak with a hotel negligence attorney in San Marcos to determine whether or not you have a claim.

Was the Hotel Negligent in Failing to Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus?

Generally speaking, in order to have a valid negligence claim in California against a hotel or motel, an injury plaintiff needs to prove the following elements:

• Hotel or motel owed a duty of care (which is easy to prove for anyone who paid to stay at the property);
• Hotel or motel breached its duty of care by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent hazards on the property;
• Hotel or motel guest suffered an injury as a result of the breach of the duty of care; and
• Hotel or motel guest sustained damages.

In the age of COVID-19, it may not be immediately clear what constitutes negligence, however, or what steps a hotel or motel must take in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections among guests. Generally speaking, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides guidelines for hotels and motels to help reduce the spread of the virus. Those guidelines include requirements for employees, social distancing in common areas, limiting the total number of guests in the hotel room, creating contactless delivery for room service, minimizing guest and employee traffic in hotel spaces, and conducting regular and more intensive cleaning processes for guest rooms and common areas.

Did You Sign a Waiver of Liability?

Did you sign a waiver of liability? While liability waivers are not always enforceable, COVID-19 waivers tend to be more enforceable for customers or clients (than for employees) as long as the client or customer understood the risks when they signed the release.

Regardless of whether the hotel or motel followed guidance from the CDC or other state guidance, you may not be able to file a claim if you signed a liability waiver that released the hotel from responsibility for coronavirus exposure, you may not be eligible to file a claim.

Seek Advice From a Hotel Negligence Lawyer in San Marcos

If you recently stayed at a hotel or motel in Southern California and contracted an illness or suffered an injury, you should speak with a San Marcos hotel negligence attorney to learn more about your options for filing a claim. Contact the Walton Law Firm to discuss your case with an experienced personal injury lawyer today.

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There are many different kinds of ways in which hotels and motels can be liable for guest injuries. The following are some examples of common hotel and motel negligence claims.

Slips, Trips, and Falls on Hotel Property

Businesses have a duty to remove or remedy hazards that could lead to a slip, trip, or fall injury on the property. If they cannot remove or remedy a hazard before a customer or guest might encounter it, then the business has a duty to warn people about the risk. Slips, trips, and falls happen with some frequency at hotels in Southern California. These accidents can happen, for example, when a guest is eating in the hotel’s restaurant and slips and falls in an area where a drink spilled. Or, for instance, if a hotel hallway has torn carpeting and poor lighting, a guest might trip and fall while trying to access her room. In many slip, trip, and fall cases, a hotel will be liable for injuries if it knew or should have known about a safety hazard and failed to correct it or warn about it.

Negligent Security Claims

Although you may not realize it, a hotel or motel can actually be responsible for a guest’s injuries that result from a criminal act committed by a third party—like an assault or battery—if the crime occurred as a result of the hotel’s negligence security. What does negligent security mean in this context? There are a number of possible answers. For example, if a hotel knows that one of its parking areas is poorly lit and has been a site of car break-ins, it may have a duty to install bright security lighting or even, depending on the circumstances, to hire a security guard. Or, for instance, if a hotel fails to provide each room with a properly functioning door lock and a guest is assaulted by an intruder, the hotel may be liable.

Foodborne Illness Claims

Hotels can be liable for guest injuries resulting from foodborne illness from hotel restaurant fare or room service foods. In thinking about infection-control measures, it will be particularly important for hotels to begin thinking about what infection-control procedures are in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Contact a Rancho Bernardo Hotel Liability Lawyer

If you or someone in your family suffered harm because of hotel or motel negligence, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit. An experienced Rancho Bernardo hotel injury lawyer can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about getting started on your claim.

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