A slip and fall in a hotel pool can completely derail your vacation. Instead of lounging by the pool or playing with the kids, you may find yourself juggling medical appointments and struggling to recover from serious injuries, including broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and even head injuries. If you slipped and fell at a hotel pool, does the hotel bear liability? It may depend on the factors that led to the accident.
Factors That Can Leave the Hotel Liable for a Pool Slip and Fall
The hotel may bear liability if the hotel committed an act of negligence that led to your slip and fall. Often, that means that the hotel failed to properly maintain the pool, or that the hotel did not take necessary steps to protect visitors and provide them with information about the overall safety of the pool area.
1. Excessively Slippery Flooring
The flooring around a pool is naturally more slippery than the flooring in other areas, especially if the pool is in heavy use and there is a great deal of water on the floor or cement. However, over time, the flooring can get worn down, causing an increased slip and fall risk. If the hotel failed to take care of needed maintenance on that surface or to issue proper warnings about its slippery nature, the hotel may bear liability for a slip and fall.
2. Broken Ladders or Stairs
While the kids might simply cannonball into the pool, many people, including elderly and disabled individuals, rely on stairs and ladders to get in and out of the pool. Broken stairs and ladders can significantly increase the risk of a slip and fall, especially if you crash through damaged rungs or stairs. When hotels do not regularly inspect their pools, they may miss out on the need to take care of those items, which means increased risk to their guests and increased liability for the hotel in an accident.
3. Dangerous Diving Boards
To many kids and adults alike, diving boards offer some of the most fun at a hotel pool. However, if the diving board does not receive proper maintenance, it can create unexpected dangers to visitors and swimmers. If you slip on an overly slippery diving board or trip because of a damaged surface, the hotel may bear liability for the accident.
4. Unexpected Tripping Hazards
Some tripping hazards naturally occur around the pool area: families setting out their towels, bags, and other possessions near chairs and benches, for example. Other tripping hazards, like uncovered drains, can pose an unexpected risk, especially if the hotel does not adequately label and maintain them. If you tripped over an item left in your way by the hotel staff, including an item in the way because of the pool design, like a peg for a net or a drain hole, you may have the right to compensation.
5. Spills
In many cases, hotels offer food and drinks in the pool area, or allow guests to bring their own in. Spilled liquids, however, may raise the risk of a slip and fall. Spilled sunscreen can create even more dangers, since it naturally creates an oily surface that can prove more difficult to navigate. If the hotel staff does not take steps to quickly identify and clean a spill, the hotel may bear liability for the accident.
6. Dangerous Behavior
Many of the factors that increase the risk of a slip and fall in a hotel pool occur due to hotel negligence. However, sometimes, slip and falls may occur because of dangerous behavior. If you took risky actions, including running in the pool area or roughhousing, that led to your accident, it may reduce the compensation you can recover from your slip and fall. If, on the other hand, another party’s dangerous behavior led to your slip and fall, and hotel staff did nothing to prevent it, the hotel may bear liability. Talk to an attorney as soon after the incident as possible to get a better idea of whether the hotel owes you compensation and how much you should expect.
What To Do If You Suffer Injuries in a Hotel Pool Slip and Fall
If you suffer injuries in a slip and fall in a hotel pool, you need to protect yourself.
- Report the accident to the hotel staff immediately. The staff may need to document the incident. Reporting the accident can also help protect essential evidence, which could prove valuable if you need to file an injury claim.
- Seek medical care for any injuries or suspected injuries. Do not simply assume that you can “walk it off” or “sleep it off” and that you will feel fine the next day. Delaying needed medical care can make it much more difficult for you to get the compensation you need as part of an injury claim later.
- Follow all instructions given by your medical care provider. Do not miss appointments, even if they prove inconvenient, or ignore restrictions designed to prevent you from suffering further injury.
- Keep track of all of the medical bills related to your slip and fall accident, including co-pays and deductibles, in one place. Keep in mind that you may receive multiple bills from the same procedure, so make sure you keep up with the ongoing total.
- Contact a lawyer as soon as you can. A lawyer can provide you with more information about your right to compensation after a slip and fall in a hotel pool as well as fighting to maximize the compensation you can recover.
- Do not accept an initial settlement offer from the hotel’s insurance company before you talk to a lawyer. A lawyer can provide you with more information about your rights, including whether that offer fairly reflects the compensation you deserve.
Did You Suffer Injuries in a Slip and Fall in a Hotel Pool?
If you suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident due to the negligence of hotel staff, you may have the right to compensation for those injuries. Contact Cambre & Associates to discuss your right to compensation.