Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

Tragedy has already struck, as Orlando begins one of its busiest tourist seasons.

A 69-year-old tourist from Massachusetts was hit and killed early this morning by a Walt Disney World bus filled with passengers, in the parking lot of Disney's Port Orleans Resort, reports Central Florida's News 13. The report states that troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol said the man stepped in front of the bus and the driver did not have time to stop. They said the man was not in a crosswalk and the bus had the right-of-way.

In April of this year, a 9-year-old boy was killed by a Disney bus while riding his bicycle. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. and Disney bus driver David R. Rich are facing a wrongful death lawsuit by the boy's mother. The boy was riding his bicycle when the bike was pulled under the rear wheels of the bus on Big Pine Road in Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. He was wearing a safety helmet, riding on the sidewalk. The lawsuit filed in Orlando's Circuit Court points to sidewalk conditions and the park bus system for the death.

According to the News 13 report, the FHP report blamed the bicycle accident on the fact that the tires on the boy's bicycle had little or no air in them.

The 500-pound Bengal tiger that leapt over a fence at Miami's Jungle Island four months ago, is back in the park. Following the incident, the tiger was taken to a sanctuary in Myrtle Beach and the big cat exhibit at Jungle Island was closed.

According to a report in the Sun Sentinel, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) investigated the escape and concluded that the tiger's cage did not meet state requirements. The tiger leapt the fence to chase an ape that had sneaked out of its cage, due to human and mechanical error, according to the FFWCC.

The investigation prompted two second-degree misdemeanors against the park's president for conditions that allowed the animals' escape, and one misdemeanor against the tiger's owner for maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe condition, resulting in threats to public safety. The park has replaced the previous fence with a higher one made from a heavier-gauge wire.

Negligent premises security is a serious matter and can involve resort and recreational facilities that concern the safety of tourists, whether at an amusement park, hotel, cruise ship, nightclub, or casino.

Negligent security and safety measures - ranging from inadequate lighting to faulty locking mechanisms and inadequate key control or negligent conduct by security personnel - can give way to injuries, criminal acts and even violent attacks, particularly when tourists are unfamiliar or unaware of the risks in their vacation environment.

Click here for more information on Litigating Premises Security Cases.

On the heels of yesterday's report about West Palm Beach's latest efforts to curb night club drunkenness and violence -

Roxy's Pub, in the entertainment district of downtown WPB, was the site of a woman's death early Monday morning. The Pub is on the same popular Clematis Street bound by a 2004 ordinance, which allows no more than two nightclubs or bars on each block. At the time the ordinance was established, Mayor Lois Frankel described the street as a haven of nighttime violence, which she attributed to a booming nightclub scene.

The 39-year-old woman reportedly fell to her death from the top deck of the Pub, two stories up, around 1:30 a.m. The incident is under investigation. The Sun Sentinel reported that a man who claimed to witness her death told WPEC-Ch. 12 that it appeared the woman intentionally jumped, following an argument with a man at the bar. Other witnesses say the woman lost her balance and accidentally fell.

She leaves behind two young children and a job with Senior Helpers, a home health aide company that provides companions for elderly residents.

The city of West Palm Beach is attempting to ward off drunken violence in its entertainment district, with a nine-month ban of new nightclub applications downtown. The Sun Sentinel called it a preemptive strike on what the city believes could be "a binge of booze and violence in the entertainment district". The Sentinel reports that the moratorium will run until September 2011 if passed in a second and final vote during an upcoming city commission meeting.

The ban is an addition to the ordinance passed in 2004 that allowed no more than two nightclubs or bars on each block of Clematis Street, described at the time by Mayor Lois Frankel as a haven of nighttime violence, which she attributed to a booming nightclub scene. That ordinance did not address the rest of downtown West Palm Beach. Frankel recently suggested the ban on all new downtown applications while the city considers new zoning regulations. The Sentinel reported that City Commissioner Bill Moss said there has been difficulty with police calls in several south end nightclubs.

Fort Lauderdale, Davie and Miami Beach are among the South Florida cities that have seen fatal nightclub violence in recent months. One man was killed and five people were injured during two separate shooting incidents at night clubs in Fort Lauderdale and Davie, Florida. In Miami Beach, a pistol was slipped into a nightclub and used by a gang member to kill a young man thought to be the leader of a rival gang.

Inadequate security and premises liability lawsuits can unfold from violent crime in resort and recreational areas, including nightclubs. Premises liability may result from negligent security, inadequate security personnel, insufficient lighting, inadequate security equipment, or other causes. In negligent security cases, the plaintiff who has been injured due to a criminal act brings an action against the owner or manager of the premises or business. Those who are in control or in a position to prevent the incident where the plaintiff was injured are the parties who are most often defendants. The law governing these cases is derived from the general principle that those who own or possess property have a duty to protect users from accidental, negligent, and intentional acts of third parties.

Tragedy struck at a Hyatt Regency hotel in San Francisco, amidst a holiday spirit and festive photographs. A mother, along with her daughter and nanny, were taking pictures of the holiday decorations at the hotel when her 18-month old son apparently fell into a pool of water in a fountain, unnoticed, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

The hotel's Christmas tree is positioned near the multi-level fountain, which had about 2.5 feet of water in its lower trough where the child was found, lifeless. Emergency crews resuscitated him but he later died from the injuries sustained in the accident, reports the Examiner. The family was not staying at the hotel, but passing through to admire the holiday decorations, while escaping the rain outside.

The hotel has since put up three-foot-high barriers around the fountain, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

When there's trouble in paradise, what are resort and recreation property owners liable for? Property owners have a duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition and to protect the invitee from dangers of which the owner is or should be aware, or which it might reasonably foresee.

ResortTorts can encompass a vast array of types of cases but they all have one thing in common: tourists, business travelers and locals alike are all exposed to risk while traveling, vacationing or engaging in resort or pleasure activities. Tourists by their very nature are less attentive to dangers because they are in a strange place and are focused on enjoying the surroundings. Often there are higher duties owed to tourists because of their lack of familiarity and awareness of risks that would be otherwise known to the proprietors of certain businesses.

Resort Torts are cases of civil liability for negligent or criminal acts that arise out of a resort, vacation or recreational setting. Hazards can include premises liability such as trip and falls, violent crime/negligent security, defective premises design or layout, defective products, transportation negligence (plane crashes, car crashes, boating mishaps), medical malpractice provided by an innkeeper or cruise ship and many other types of dangers.

A man has accepted an $8.5 million settlement for severe injuries resulting from falling down a hotel elevator shaft. According to a press release, Gary Meade was in the elevator of New York's On The Ave hotel when it stopped between the 2nd and 3rd floors. Hotel staff pried open the doors and encouraged the people inside to jump out. When jumping, Meade slipped and fell down the shaft, landing on a steel buffer in the elevator pit, causing a gash in his groin area and injuries to his venous and lymphatic system. He underwent five surgeries and 12 hospitalizations to manage the injuries and subsequent infections.

Meade sued the hotel owner, citing negligence on the part of the hotel and its employees, who encouraged him to jump rather than calling emergency services to perform the evacuation, for failing to provide him with a ladder, and failing to secure the shaftway. Meade now suffers from permanent disfigurement and scarring, constant pain, psychological injury including post traumatic stress disorder, numbness in his left leg and foot and must elevate his left leg at all times to manage the resulting Lymphedema.

ResortTorts are cases of civil liability for negligent or criminal acts that arise out of a resort, vacation or recreational setting. Hazards can include premises liability such as trip and falls, violent crime/negligent security, defective premises design or layout, defective products, transportation negligence (plane crashes, car crashes, boating mishaps), medical malpractice provided by an innkeeper or cruise ship and many other types of dangers.

ResortTorts can encompass a vast array of types of cases but they all have one thing in common: tourists, business travelers and locals alike are all exposed to risk while traveling, vacationing or engaging in resort or pleasure activities. Because Florida is a resort destination, these torts occur with great frequency here. Tourists by their very nature are less attentive to dangers because they are in a strange place and are focused on enjoying the surroundings. Often there are higher duties owed to tourists because of their lack of familiarity and awareness of risks that would be otherwise known to the proprietors of certain businesses.

The "Wave Season" of cruise ship bookings - the period from January to March when the majority of cruises are booked and travel agents offer extra incentives - is fast approaching. This year, wave season comes on the heels of cruise ship safety concerns prominently highlighted in the news and in Washington, DC.

The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, signed into law in July, requires cruise lines to report crimes at sea, train staff to collect evidence of crimes, and install safety features such as peep holes on cabin doors.

The concerns for safety aboard these gigantic floating cities, which now carry up to 8,000 people, are many. Cruise expert Ross A. Klein reportedly testified before a Senate hearing in 2008, stating that the rate of sexual assault on cruise ships is almost twice the U.S. rate of forcible rape - about 56.9 per 100,000. The CDC lists more than a dozen outbreaks a year of gastrointestinal illness cases "evaluated by the medical staff before the ship arrives at a U.S. port, when sailing form a foreign port." [Those reports only cover cruise ships in which 3% or more of passengers or crew reported symptoms of diarrheal disease to the ships medical staff during the voyage.] And just last month, 4,500 passengers and crew aboard the Carnival ship Splendor were stranded for three days at sea, without air conditioning, hot water, hot meals, or cell phone or Internet service, after a fire broke out on the first day of a seven-day Mexican cruise.

Kendall Carver, president of International Cruise Victims, has expressed concern about increasing risks on increasingly large cruise ships. In an article published by the Palm Beach Post, Carver says: '...as ships get bigger and bigger, essentially becoming floating cities, they put more and more people at risk should the worst happen.'

Vacationers need to be aware of the risks related to their travel plans, particularly when the goal is to relax and let go of everyday worries. Resort Torts are cases of civil liability for negligent or criminal acts that arise out of a resort, vacation or recreational setting. These can involve aspects of hotel and motel safety, cruise ship litigation, pleasure boating and jet ski incidents, amusement, aquatic, diving and swimming incidents, foreign travel and medical emergencies, gaming and casinos, aviation (commercial and general), rental car liability, moped, bicycle and motorcycle safety, buses and tour guides, travel industry liability for crime victims, and medical care provided to vacationers. Resort Torts can encompass a vast array of types of cases but they all have one thing in common: tourists, business travelers and locals alike are all exposed to risk while traveling, vacationing or engaging in resort or pleasure activities.

Kendall Carver, president of International Cruise Victims, has expressed concern about increasing risks on increasingly large cruise ships. In an article published by the Palm Beach Post, Carver says: '...as ships get bigger and bigger, essentially becoming floating cities, they put more and more people at risk should the worst happen.'

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which can hold 6,360 passengers and 2,100 crew, has made its debut as the largest cruise ship in the world, along with its twin, Oasis of the Seas. A spokeswoman cited the redundant propulsion, heating and air conditioning, lighting and water systems, that would provide lights, power and flushable toilets, all at a comfortable temperature, even if one engine compartment were rendered inoperable.

Concerns of cruise ship safety were highlighted last month, when 4,500 passengers and crew aboard the Carnival ship Splendor were stranded for three days at sea, without air conditioning, hot water, hot meals, or cell phone or Internet service, after a fire broke out on the first day of a seven-day Mexican cruise.

New rules for cruise ship safety measures were signed into law in July, with the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act. The Act includes requiring cruise lines to report crimes at sea, training staff to collect evidence of crimes, and specific requirements for safety features such as peep holes on cabin doors.

Resort Torts are cases of civil liability for negligent or criminal acts that arise out of a resort, vacation or recreational setting. These can involve aspects of hotel and motel safety, cruise ship litigation, pleasure boating and jet ski incidents, amusement, aquatic, diving and swimming incidents, foreign travel and medical emergencies, gaming and casinos, aviation (commercial and general), rental car liability, moped, bicycle and motorcycle safety, buses and tour guides, travel industry liability for crime victims, and medical care provided to vacationers. Resort Torts can encompass a vast array of types of cases but they all have one thing in common: tourists, business travelers and locals alike are all exposed to risk while traveling, vacationing or engaging in resort or pleasure activities.