Getting out of town can be a pleasurable experience and very relaxing. Unfortunately, a weekend getaway or business trip to a beautiful location can turn into a disaster if someone gets injured. Nobody anticipates being injured in a hotel when traveling for business or pleasure. Personal injury lawyers recommend taking certain steps after your accident to reduce your liability and help you recover fair and just compensation in a lawsuit. The following information can help you if you have been injured in a hotel.
Report your accident injury to the hotel manager. Unfortunately, hotels are not legally obligated to report your accident. However, most hotels have a policy in place that outlines how to document any type of accident that results in someone getting injured. Hotels have risk management policies and safety procedures that they must abide by in accordance with their insurance company’s policy.
Photos and videos can provide key evidence demonstrating the conditions and circumstances that led to your accident. If you cannot take photos yourself, then ask a witness to take them for you. The hotel may try to clean up the accident site, so you should take pictures before evidence is cleared away. For instance, if you slipped on a spill in the lobby or a restaurant, then you should take pictures of it before an employee tries to wipe it up. If you tripped on a torn rug or uneven pavement, then you should take pictures of that along with your injuries.
To know whether or not you have suffered serious injuries as a result of your fall, you should get checked out by a physician even if you think you feel fine. The adrenaline rush may prevent you from feeling the full extent of your injuries. During a fall, the organs can hit bone and become bruised, just like the surface of the skin. A doctor can order diagnostic testing to rule out any internal injuries. If you lost consciousness or hit your head, then you should be assessed for traumatic brain injuries. A physician should assess any numbness or tingling in the body to rule out nerve damage and spinal cord injuries.
There may have been other people around who saw what happened. You should get the contact information of other hotel guests or employees who witnessed the accident. Ask them for their names and contact information so your personal injury attorney can contact them in the future. Eyewitnesses can be of great value to a personal injury claim.
Keep a journal over the next few days of your injury and symptoms. Your journal should also document everything that happened before the accident. It’s natural for people to forget details over time, so write these down while the memory is still fresh in your mind:
A personal injury attorney fights for you to get what you deserve. The insurance company representing the hotel is not as concerned with paying you a fair and just settlement as much as they are concerned with saving themselves money. A personal injury attorney is not only your legal guide but is always in your corner fighting for you.
Hotel owners and insurance companies try to use legal defenses in accident claims, especially when they may be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars worth of damages. One legal defense they may use is inadequate notice, which means that a hazard did not exist long enough for the hotel manager to know that it existed and posed a threat to others' safety. When you have a skilled attorney on your side, then they will fight back against these arguments for you.
It’s very common for insurance companies to hire private investigators to check out the social media profiles of claimants to find signs of fraud. Suppose you post on a social media account that you feel fine or pictures of you enjoying yourself with friends or family, then the insurance company will intentionally misconstrue those photos to claim that you are exaggerating your injuries. You should talk to your personal injury attorney about what you should not say or do online.