When you stay at a hotel, you should expect a relaxing, comfortable, and safe experience. An injury can disrupt your trip, create unnecessary stress, and even affect your life beyond your stay. If the accident happened because of the hotel’s negligence, you should not have to worry about how you will cover the cost of recovery. With Milavetz Injury Law, P.A., we will stand up for you and let your voice be heard. We’ll help you hold negligent property owners accountable so you can pursue compensation for your injuries.
-
Get medical help right away – Even minor injuries should be checked by a doctor; follow all treatment plans and keep medical records to support your claim.
-
Report the accident to hotel management – Notify them in writing (email is best) without overexplaining or admitting fault, and keep a copy for your records.
-
Document everything quickly – Take photos/videos of the hazard, surrounding area, and your injuries; gather witness names and statements before conditions change.
-
Preserve evidence – Save receipts, clothing, medical bills, treatment records, and any communication from the hotel or insurers.
-
Understand liability rules – Minnesota hotels owe guests a high duty of care; you must show the hotel knew or should have known of the hazard, and damages may be reduced if you’re partly at fault.
- Seek Medical Attention Immediately
- Report the Incident to Hotel Management
- Document the Scene and Your Injuries
- Preserve All Evidence
- The Most Common Types of Injuries at Hotels
- Understand Hotel Liability in Minnesota
- Were You Injured at A Minnesota Hotel? Contact Milavetz Injury Law for a Free Consultation
Seek Medical Attention Immediately
If you’ve been in an accident or injured while staying at a hotel, getting medical attention as soon as possible is important, even if your injuries seem minor. Whether or not you think you’ve been injured, there could be injuries that are hiding initially, like from adrenaline. It’s important to follow any treatment plan or directions a doctor gives you, which could be physical therapy or follow-up appointments.
Getting medical attention as soon as possible after an accident will put your health and safety first, which is always the top priority. Medical records of getting care and following the treatment plan after an accident are critical and reinforce your injury claim.
Report the Incident to Hotel Management
Immediately notify hotel management in writing what happened as soon as an incident occurs. It’s best to do this through email so you will have a record of exactly when you informed the hotel company. In the written incident report, be sure not to overexplain the accident, give too many details, or accept any blame for what happened.
Document the Scene and Your Injuries
Take photos of the scene of the accident, including the hazard, the surrounding area, and your injuries. If someone witnessed the incident, get the names of witnesses and note the time and date. Record a video of them stating their name and what they saw happen, if possible.
Hotels always have to be in working condition with guests coming and going, so you should take these photos or videos quickly, because conditions could be repaired quickly. If you leave the hotel before taking at least one photo of a hazard, like a turned-over cart in the hallway or ceiling debris on the floor, it could be cleaned up and gone by the time you return.
Preserve All Evidence
Keep everything related to the incident, like receipts, clothing or shoes, and save all correspondence from the hotel or insurance companies. Keep copies of medical bills, your medical treatment records and the photos and videos you took. Saving all of this can contribute to the evidence you have to assist your attorney and strengthen your case.
The Most Common Types of Injuries at Hotels
You can be injured at a hotel by a number of things, from poor maintenance to security. Some of the common causes of injuries at hotels are:
- Slips and falls from wet floors, uneven surfaces or icy walkways.
- Trip hazards from torn carpets, poor lighting or cluttered walkways.
- Swimming pool accidents, such as drowning, slip hazards or chemical exposures
- Elevator or escalator malfunctions
- Safety protocols not being followed properly by staff.
- Falling objects, loose fixtures, unsecured shelving or ceiling issues
- Burns from hot water, faulty appliances or kitchen areas
- Inadequate building maintenance
- Accidents due to inadequately trained staff
- Assaults due to inadequate hotel security or security measures
Milavetz Injury Law, P.A., has over 60 years of experience helping with premises liability and slip-and-fall cases, securing top legal services and over half a billion dollars for injured Minnesotans. The premises liability lawyers at Milavetz evaluate cases and handle claim complexities to ensure our clients get the compensation they deserve.
Understand Hotel Liability in Minnesota
When you stay at a hotel, you’re staying on another person’s or company’s property and should expect a safe environment. As a guest, the hotel owes you a duty of care to keep you safe and maintain the property.
Under Minnesota law, you would be considered an invitee on the property and are owed the highest duty of care, which includes maintaining a safe environment, conducting regular inspections for hazards, and warning guests of any dangerous conditions. Liability in a premises liability case depends on whether the hotel knew, or should have known, about the hazard and failed to address it or properly warn guests of it. If you slipped on a wet floor that did not have a sign nearby, and no staff members warned you, you could have a premises liability case.
Proving the hotel was at fault for your injuries means you must show the hotel owed you and others a duty of care to keep their property safe and warn of foreseeable harm, the hotel violated this duty, the violation caused your accident, and you suffered damages. You must also show that the hotel had actual or constructive notice of the hazard, which means either the hotel knew about the danger or it existed long enough that staff reasonably should have discovered and fixed it.
In some cases, such as assaults or negligent security, liability also depends on whether the harm was reasonably foreseeable based on prior incidents or conditions at the hotel.
Finally, it’s important to note that Minnesota follows a modified comparative fault rule. If you are partly responsible for the accident, such as by ignoring warning signs, your compensation may be reduced in proportion to your fault. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you cannot recover damages.
Were You Injured at A Minnesota Hotel? Contact Milavetz Injury Law for a Free Consultation
After an accident occurs, you don’t have to navigate the claim process or a lawsuit by yourself. We truly care about our clients and aim to offer the best representation and support for every case. We offer free consultations and guarantee no legal fees unless we win your case. Since 1963, we have been committed to serving clients throughout Minnesota and are ready to assist you from any of our 12 convenient office locations.
If you suffered an injury while staying at a hotel, you need experienced legal counsel to help you secure compensation.
Our Minnesota premises liability lawyers at Milavetz Injury Law, P.A., are waiting to help. Contact us today through our online form or by calling one of our offices.
- Brooklyn Center: (763) 560-0000
- Forest Lake: (651) 464-2663
- Minneapolis: (612) 339-0140
- Roseville: (651) 635-9999
- St. Cloud: (320) 202-7777
- St. Paul: (651) 645-7777
