Can you sue a hotel? If you suffer injuries in an accident at a hotel, you may be able to sue the hotel if negligence was the cause. The ability to recover compensation from a hotel will depend on the nature of the accident and the injuries sustained, along with the parties involved who contributed to the accident.

For help with a lawsuit against a hotel for injuries in Las Vegas, NV, call George Bochanis Injury Law Offices at 702-388-2005.
What Are the Most Common Types of Injuries in Hotels?
As a top destination for vacationers and tourists, there are around 300 hotels in Las Vegas today, totaling over 156,000 rooms. While hotels have the responsibility of maintaining the safety and general well-being of their guests, they can enable injuries through negligence.
The following are some of the most common Las Vegas injuries that guests and other individuals suffer at hotels:
Fractured and Broken Bones
Many individuals suffer fractured or broken bones from slip-and-falls and other accidents at hotels, which can require casts and other measures to help with the recovery process.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) and Concussions
Accidents can also cause brain injuries ranging from mild concussions to severe TBIs, with one of the biggest causes of these being swimming pool accidents. Individuals could slip off diving boards, for instance, causing them to hit pool decks or other hard surfaces.
Burns
People may suffer minor to severe burns under different circumstances. For example, a hotel fire could break out, or hot shower water may cause burns.
Foodborne Illnesses
Improperly prepared food could cause guests to become ill from salmonella, E. coli, or other bacterial infections.
Accidents That Cause Hotel Injuries
There are many types of incidents that can cause the above injuries and others. These include:
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slips, trips, and falls frequently occur in hotels. They may result from insufficient lighting, uneven flooring, slippery floors, torn carpeting, icy surfaces, and other hazards.
Hotels should take steps to identify and address these hazards. For instance, if hotel workers have recently cleaned floors, they should put up signage warning guests of slippery surfaces. They should also have maintenance crews repair cracks or install better lighting to help minimize the risk of slips and falls.
Pool Accidents
Hotel injuries often occur in or around swimming pools because of several hazards, such as slippery or broken floor tiles, broken diving boards, or insufficient signage warning of dangers, like diving at shallow depths. Drownings could also occur in pools or hot tubs.
Hot Water or Fires
Burn injuries may result when showering in scalding water, or fires could develop in hotels and spread to different rooms. Heated pool facilities, steam irons, and hot coffee and other beverages could also cause burn injuries.
Accidents in Fitness Areas
Many hotels have fitness facilities that feature various types of workout equipment. Hotels must maintain this equipment to reduce the risk of injuries through breakdowns and malfunctions.
Inadequate Security
Hotels also need to take steps to provide sufficient security for guests and others. Many hotel guests are the target of criminal activity. Physical altercations could also occur, along with other criminal activity such as sexual assaults.
Food Poisoning
Guests could develop foodborne illnesses when they consume inadequately cooked or prepared meals, whether through guest services or hotel restaurants. Food poisoning could result in everything from mild discomfort to life-threatening illnesses. Subsequently, individuals could sue for food poisoning if a hotel is responsible for these illnesses.
When Can You Sue A Hotel?
If a hotel or another party’s negligence led to an accident causing injuries and related damages, you may be able to sue the liable individuals or entities to recover compensation.
However, it’s important to act fast to build a successful case. Like other states, Nevada has a statute of limitations in place for personal injury cases, including hotel injuries. This statute of limitations gives you a limited amount of time to file before you’re unable to seek compensation. In Nevada, the statute is two years from the time of your injury or discovery of injury, meaning you have two years to file a claim or suit.
Who Is Liable for Hotel Injuries?
There are multiple parties that could be responsible for hotel accidents and injuries, depending on the circumstances.
A hotel could be responsible for failing to maintain safe facilities that result in accidents, such as neglecting to address uneven or broken flooring, broken light fixtures, and other hazards. Hotel liability for assaults might also apply to a case if the hotel’s lack of adequate security enabled an assault to take place.
Meanwhile, other parties could be solely liable or share liability for accidents. For example, a restaurant company could be responsible for food poisoning if the hotel doesn’t own the restaurant. A construction company could also be legally responsible for faulty facility design or construction that leads to an accident. Elevator manufacturers and others could further contribute to liability if their negligence causes injuries.
Ultimately, these cases can be complex and involve multiple responsible parties, which is why you should consult an experienced personal injury lawyer to help handle a case.
Steps to Take After an Injury
Following a hotel injury, there are some critical steps to take to help increase your chances of filing a successful claim or lawsuit. These steps entail:
1. Reporting Your Injury to Hotel Staff
If hotel staff is unaware of your injury at the time it occurred, report the injury to hotel staff as soon as possible. Hotel management can record your injuries and provide you with initial documentation detailing the nature of the accident and resulting injuries.
This documentation can go a long way in supporting your version of events when building a case against the hotel or other negligent parties.
2. Seeking Medical Care for Your Injury
You should also seek medical attention as soon as you can for your injuries, regardless of their severity. The sooner you visit a medical professional, the sooner you can begin the recovery process and recover documents connecting your injuries to the hotel accident.
Failing to seek medical care on time could also allow your condition to worsen to the point of becoming even life-threatening, depending on the extent of your injury or illness.
3. Gathering Evidence
Whether shortly after the accident or on a later date, collect sufficient evidence to support your case.
There are many types of evidence that help you prove the nature of your injuries and others’ negligence. These pieces of evidence include:
- Accident reports
- Surveillance footage
- Video or photos of the accident and resulting injuries, such as those that witnesses may record at the time of the incident
- Medical reports
- Proof that you were a guest at the time of the accident
- Receipts for repairs or replacements for damaged belongings
If you’re unable to obtain any of this evidence on your own, an attorney may be able to assist you with this task.
4. Contacting a Personal Injury Attorney
Consult an experienced personal injury attorney. Specifically, look for an attorney with experience handling cases involving hotel accidents.
Most personal injury lawyers provide free initial consultations for prospective clients. During this consultation, you can relay the events and provide evidence you currently have to support your case. The attorney may then decide whether to represent you in a claim or lawsuit against a hotel or another party.
An attorney can help you increase your chances of success in multiple ways. One advantage of hiring an attorney is the ability to collect sufficient evidence and organize it to build a stronger case. In the process, your attorney could reach out to hotel management, police, medical professionals, witnesses, and others to gather as much evidence as possible on your behalf.
5. Determining the Total Amount of Compensation
With an attorney working for you, you can then begin calculating the total compensation involved in your case.
There are several types of compensation that you may seek for hotel accidents and injuries. One of the main types of damages is economic. Economic damages refer to all financial losses experienced because of your injuries. These include items like medical expenses for immediate and ongoing treatment, loss of income due to time taken off from work to recover, the costs of physical therapy and rehabilitation, and other related expenses.
In addition, you may recover non-economic damages that supplement economic damages. These damages apply to the personal losses stemming from your injuries. For instance, you could sue for emotional distress and trauma resulting from an accident, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, or loss of companionship or consortium.
While they rarely come into play, you could also recover compensation through punitive damages. These are different from economic and non-economic damages in that they have the intention of punishing defendants rather than compensating victims. Only a judge or jury can award these through a court, and you will need to show how the defendant acted with gross negligence or malicious intent to recover these damages.
In the event of a hotel guest’s death resulting from injuries, the decedent’s family may seek wrongful death compensation. These damages include various economic and non-economic damages that developed before or after the individual’s death. Examples of these include medical bills for treating the decedent prior to his or her death, along with the cost of burials and funeral services.
Your lawyer could work with you to identify and quantify all related damages and use this sum to begin seeking compensation.
6. Filing a Claim With Insurers
Additionally, an attorney can help negotiate claims with insurance companies. Hotels often pay out claims through commercial general liability insurance. When dealing with insurers, it’s important to have an attorney by your side during negotiations to avoid issues that might otherwise compromise your case.
While insurance adjusters may appear willing to help you recover the compensation you deserve, they want to avoid making large payouts. As a result, they may make initial offers that are lower than what your case is actually worth or work to deny your claim entirely.
An experienced lawyer will anticipate adjusters’ negotiation tactics and work to counter them to recover a fair settlement.
7. Taking the Case to Court
Although the majority of accident claims end during negotiations with insurers, there are rare cases when a claim may turn into a lawsuit that results in a trial case.
If you are unable to settle during negotiations, your attorney may recommend taking your case to court. If this occurs, it’s best to have an attorney with ample trial experience to provide reliable representation during the legal process.
During a trial, both sides will have the chance to argue their cases, with a discovery process that involves collecting and organizing sufficient evidence to support each argument. While developing your case in a trial setting, your lawyer may also hire expert witnesses to recreate the events of the accident. At the end of the trial after closing arguments, a judge or jury awards a settlement amount if the court finds the defendant liable.
Suing Hotels or Others Following a Hotel Accident
So, can you sue a hotel for injuries? If a hotel or another liable party’s negligence caused your injuries, it may be possible to file a claim or lawsuit to seek compensation. Whether an accident is the fault of a hotel company, management, other guests, or other individuals or entities, an attorney can help identify liable parties and build a successful case against them.
The key is to gather sufficient evidence, seek treatment, and file a claim or suit as early as possible. Doing so can maximize your chances of successfully seeking compensation from negligent parties.
If you need a dependable personal injury attorney in Las Vegas, the knowledgeable and experienced team at George Bochanis Injury Law Offices is here for you. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys.