Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

A bizarre and tragic incident left an expectant mother and her unborn baby dead at a Fort Lauderdale hotel's poolside cabana.

The 27-year-old woman visiting from Massachusetts had just entered the cabana when a car plowed into it, killing her instantly. The car's driver reportedly lost control, hit a curb, crossed a sidewalk and continued 20 feet into the cabana. The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was reported to be in stable condition.

An investigation is underway and charges against the driver are pending toxicology tests. A Breathalyzer and blood test were not performed immediately following the incident because the driver was injured. A myriad of legal issues could come into play, from driver negligence causing catastrophic injuries to premises liability and resort tort litigation.

The mother-to-be and her husband had traveled to Fort Lauderdale to attend the Real Marriage Tour at Calvary Chapel, where more than 3,000 people gathered for "discussions on love, friendship and sexuality in a program designed to strengthen marriages," reported the Sun Sentinel. The couple had won the trip in an essay contest, with a winning entry focused on their dedication to their faith and desire for one last vacation before the birth of their son. The victim of the fatal tragedy was a teaching assistant for a third-grade special education class in Massachusetts.

The heartbreak and emotional trauma the victim's husband is suffering is almost unimaginable. He would have returned home with his wife to a house prepared for the arrival of their child, and now will return alone.

Safety policies and procedures at hotels and resorts are keys to the safety of both guests and employees.

A simple light bulb change in the pool area of the Stonewall Resort and Conference Center in West Virginia resulted in a debilitating foot and ankle injury for a resort-employed electrician, who fell about 20 feet onto concrete, reported the West Virginia Record. The employee claims he received an electrical shock when changing the bulb, causing the fall from an extension ladder.

As a general rule, property owners have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition to protect against dangers of which the owner is aware, should be aware, or might reasonably foresee.

© Tobias Wenov | Dreamstime.com

This year, Florida Legislature will review several bills filed regarding the state's $60 billion tourism industry:
• A bill designed to preempt any future efforts to regulate vacation homes as if they were hotels or motels
• Stiffer penalties for people who distribute fliers on hotel properties (The Safety Act of 2011)
• Easier access to liquor permits for restaurants
• Preserving public spending on tourism advertising

Vacation home regulation is a contentious issue and could determine the requirements and responsibilities of those property owners. Vacation rentals have become a popular alternative to hotel accommodations in Florida, with an estimated 20,000 vacation homes in Central Florida alone, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Some hotels have argued that these homes should be forced to comply with the same rules that hotels must follow.

The regulation could also affect the safety and security of people who rent vacation homes, calling into question the issue of premises liability. Last year, the state Legislature passed a law freeing vacation home owners from having to install fire-sprinkler systems, which conventional hotels are required to do.

Inadequate security and premises liability lawsuits can unfold from accidents and crimes occurring on resort and hotel premises. Premises liability may result from negligent security, insufficient lighting, inadequate security or safety equipment, or other causes. In negligent security cases, the plaintiff who has been injured 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.

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

A family has filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court after their son died while free diving at The Homestead, a resort in Utah.

They say the resort and its business partner, The Crater, Inc., were not in compliance with Utah law that cites safety regulations for geothermal pools at resorts, because they did not employ a lifeguard, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

They allege that better safety and rescue equipment as well as diver supervision could have prevented their son's death. They are seeking compensation for medical and funeral expenses, and for emotional trauma.

Their son was training at the geothermal pool for the U.S. National Freediving Championships. He remained underwater for six minutes at a time, and did not survive his last dive.

The Tribune reports that The Homestead was notified four times in 2008 and 2009 by the Utah Department of Health of the new safety regulations for geothermal pools at resorts, which took effect in July 2009, requiring a lifeguard. The diver's parents acknowledge in their complaint that there is a sign posted at the pool warning that drowning and other water-related injuries can occur.

Popular Ocean Drive on Miami Beach, typically teeming with strolling tourists, was lucky to skirt serious mass injuries Saturday when a hotel's overhang crashed to the sidewalk. Fire Rescue and inspectors arrived on the scene and determined that the collapse of the structure was due to wear and tear, according to the Miami Herald. The building inspector said that water build-up was likely the culprit and there should have been a water drainage system.

Related Case Law for ResortTorts:
• A landowner has 2 basic duties: reasonable care to maintain premises in reasonably safe condition, and give warning of concealed perils which are or should be known and which are unknown to invitee.
Williams v. Madden, 588 So.2d 41 (1 DCA 1991)

• In fulfilling its duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition, "a landowner must conduct inspections appropriate for the premises involved."
Yuniter v. A & A Edgewater of Florida, Inc., 707 So.2d 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)

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.

The Tourist Safety Act of 2011 has been signed by a Florida House panel. The legislation (HB 63) approved by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee addresses the potential dangers and risks presented by people who illegally distribute 'handbills' such as pizza menus and other fliers in hotels, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The legislation arose because criminals are using bogus menus and coupons to gain credit-card numbers from tourists, to burglarize hotel rooms, and for identity theft at hotels in Central Florida. Attempted rape and the beating of a security guard were also reported in Daytona Beach.

The Act would require written authorization from the hotel to distribute menus. It would also make arrests easier, impose stiffer penalties on violators, and allow police to seize property used to commit the crimes under a contraband-forfeiture law commonly used in drug arrests. The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association and Walt Disney World (operator of around 25,000 hotel rooms time-share suites) supported the bill.

Inadequate security and premises liability lawsuits can unfold from crime occurring on resort and hotel premises. 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.

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.

For more information on Litigating Premises Security Cases, click here.

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.

Services were held Saturday for three of the five teens killed two weeks ago in a Hialeah, Florida hotel room, when deadly carbon monoxide fumes seeped into their room. The Miami Herald reports that the five friends were celebrating a birthday at the Hotel Presidente, when they left their borrowed car running in the attached garage.

The Associated Press reported that friends of the deceased told police the car was having engine trouble so they likely left it running to avoid it not starting again. The door leading to the garage was slightly ajar, allowing the fumes to enter the hotel room, and the teens were found by a hotel maid the next day. She reported a strong smell of gasoline and saw that they were sprawled out on the floor, looking unconscious and not responding to her when she shouted 'hello'.

In 2006, Florida law was changed to require installation of carbon monoxide detectors in new buildings. The Hotel Presidente (and other such older buildings) is exempt unless it undergoes major renovations. It is yet unclear whether a separate Hialeah ordinance was violated, which requires a higher level of carbon monoxide detection in older buildings.

USA Today reported the story, adding statistics and tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Carbon monoxide, a colorless odorless, tasteless gas kills more than 400 people in the U.S. each year, with 15,000 related emergency room cases.

The CDC's branch chief for air pollution and respiratory health, Paul Garbe, provided the following preventative measures against carbon monoxide accidents:

• Install carbon monoxide detectors on each floor, especially where there are bedrooms. People who are sleeping or have been drinking will often succumb before waking. The best detectors plug into an electrical outlet but have a battery backup. "If you hear it go off, run from the house and then find a way to call 911. Don't call 911 first."

• Have your heating system, water heater and any other gas-, oil-, or coal-burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.

The gas is released when burned carbon fuels are not properly vented. Symptoms of poisoning include headaches, nausea, fatigue and confusion. Inhaling higher levels leads to unconsciousness and death. The ill effects come on quickly like flu and are often mistaken for it.

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.

A homicide investigation is underway in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where five Canadians and seven Mexicans were killed by an explosion at the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel resort. Eighteen additional people suffered injuries.

Investigators are pursuing a theory that methane gas had accumulated from rotting material in waste water and the gas ignited, causing the explosion, the Vancouver Sun reports. Mexican authorities ruled out the possibility of an attack. Quintana Roo state attorney Francisco Alor said that homicide investigations are routine in Mexico whenever there are unexplained deaths. Complaints have been filed with Mexican authorities by three Canadian families.

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.

A SEMINAR on INADEQUATE PREMISES SECURITY LITIGATION IN FLORIDA

>> Miami: November 4, 8:30am - 12:30pm
>> Orlando: November 11, 8:30am - 12:30pm

NO CHARGE for breakfast or 3.50 general credits including .50 ethics

TOPIC: Strategies and tactics in investigating, litigating and trying premises security cases; case law, relevant statutes, codes and ordinances.

The seminar will be presented by John Elliott Leighton - author of the two-volume treatise, Litigating Premises Security Cases (Thomson-West, 2006), the most comprehensive national text on handling and trying premises security cases. Mr. Leighton is managing partner of Leighton Law, P.A. His practice is focused on the representation of severely injured victims, primarily due to the failure to maintain reasonable or adequate security at commercial premises, Resort TortsTM, medical malpractice and consumer product liability.

Mr. Leighton is Chairman of the American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America) Inadequate Security Litigation Group, past Chairman of ATLA's Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section, and a nationally recognized authority on inadequate security litigation. He is Chairman of The Academy of Trial Advocacy, a national invitation-only association of the nation's leading catastrophic injury trial lawyers. He is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America," Florida Trend Legal Elite's "Best Lawyers in Florida," and has been selected as a Florida SuperLawyer™ and South Florida Legal Guide "Top Lawyer."

A SEMINAR on INADEQUATE PREMISES SECURITY LITIGATION IN FLORIDA

Save the Date!
>> Miami: November 4, 8:30am - 12:30pm
>> Orlando: November 11, 8:30am - 12:30pm

NO CHARGE for breakfast or 3.50 general credits including .50 ethics

TOPIC: Strategies and tactics in investigating, litigating and trying premises security cases; case law, relevant statutes, codes and ordinances.

The seminar will be presented by John Elliott Leighton - author of the two-volume treatise, Litigating Premises Security Cases (Thomson-West, 2006), the most comprehensive national text on handling and trying premises security cases. Mr. Leighton is managing partner of Leighton Law, P.A. His practice is focused on the representation of severely injured victims, primarily due to the failure to maintain reasonable or adequate security at commercial premises, Resort TortsTM, medical malpractice and consumer product liability.

Mr. Leighton is Chairman of the American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America) Inadequate Security Litigation Group, past Chairman of ATLA's Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section, and a nationally recognized authority on inadequate security litigation. He is Chairman of The Academy of Trial Advocacy, a national invitation-only association of the nation's leading catastrophic injury trial lawyers. He is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America," Florida Trend Legal Elite's "Best Lawyers in Florida," and has been selected as a Florida SuperLawyer™ and South Florida Legal Guide "Top Lawyer."

The Deauville Beach Resort on Miami Beach has closed several areas of the hotel due to code violations including problems with a fire alarm system and the capacity of exit areas in the hotel's ballrooms and theater. While The Miami Herald reported a couple's misfortune of sorting out the relocation of their wedding ceremony to the hotel's basement sandwich shop, the Deauville is rightfully taking steps to protect itself against potential liability issues.

The code and life-safety issues that threaten shutting down the historic hotel, where, in 1964 The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, raise the liability flag. As a general rule, property owners have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition to protect guests from dangers of which the owner is aware, should be aware, or might reasonably foresee. Some premises security cases turn on the issue of foreseeability. Should the hotel, resort or other establishment have been able to foresee the possibility of a violent crime or other incident?

The first duty of a property owner is to eliminate or guard against harm. If that is not possible, the owner has a duty to warn guests of hidden dangers. An effective warning is one which is clear and gives the consequences for failure to follow the warning. By closing off areas of foreseeable risk and possible danger, the hotel is appropriately taking measures to help guard against liability issues.

Following are several examples of relevant case law:

Continue reading "Resort Takes Steps to Guard Against Liability / Premises Security Case Law " »

A California man rented snorkeling equipment from the Breakers resort in Palm Beach where he was attending a conference, and died while snorkeling in eight feet of water. Neither of his snorkeling companions noticed him in distress in the water but a hotel guest had seen him in the surf and alerted hotel security about a potential problem. The man had been snorkeling the previous day.

The Palm Beach Daily News reported that a Breakers lifeguard and a hotel vendor pulled the man from the water at the north end of the resort after the vendor saw him drifting away from the reef and his snorkeling companions. After an unsuccessful resuscitation attempt by the lifeguard, Palm Beach Fire-Rescue arrived, administered CPR, and took the man to a Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Resort torts are instances of civil liability for negligent or intentional 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 and theme park liability, 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 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.

A marine toxicologist and Exxon Valdez survivor reports in The Huffington Post that beach goers in four Gulf states are suffering skin rashes, blisters, welts, sore throats, ear bleeds and bronchitis after being in the ocean. The culprit? Dispersed oil - tiny bubbles of oil encased in chemical dispersants in the water column - and they're invisible. Overexposure to crude oil through inhalation and skin contact are known to create these symptoms.

Worse -- not only are small children at risk of breathing a higher dose of contaminants per body weight than adults, but children, pregnant women, people with compromised or stressed immune systems like cancer survivors and asthma sufferers, and African Americans are more at risk from oil and chemical exposure - the latter because they are prone to sickle cell anemia, reports the toxicologist.

Long-term effects of exposure to the chemical dispersants being used on the BP oil spill are yet to be seen but, as reported in The Tampa Tribune, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention assert that long-term exposure can cause central nervous system problems or damage to the kidneys or liver.

BP and hotels alike - particularly those with private beaches - would do well to post warning signs about the hazards and potential for personal injury in the water. This may give rise to resort and hotel liability for failure to warn guests of a known hazard.