Hotels Can Be Held Liable When Their Negligence Harms Others

Whether you’re away from home for business or pleasure, you expect to be safe when you stay at a hotel. Hotels must take reasonable steps to prevent you from being injured by an accident or someone’s intentional act. Owning and operating a hotel is a big responsibility. Not every owner is up to the task.

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC helps those injured by negligence and criminal acts obtain the compensation they deserve for what they’ve had to endure. If you or a family member are injured or killed at a hotel, contact us so we can talk about what happened and how we can help.

What is Negligence?

Most personal injury legal claims are based on negligence. The plaintiff (the one filing the lawsuit) must prove all elements of the claim. They must show that it’s more likely than not that the defendant (the party sued) committed negligence and caused the plaintiff harm.

Negligence’s elements include the following:

• Due to the relationship between you and the defendant (a hotel guest or visitor and the owner), they owed you a legal duty to do or not do something given the situation
• The defendant failed in that duty
• That failure or breach is the factual and legal (or proximate) accident cause
• The accident harmed you
• Under Kentucky law, the defendant is required to pay you damages (the harm from your injury measured in dollars)

The facts may make establishing these elements easier or more difficult.

Kentucky Hotel Held Liable for Guest’s Death

A hotel must take steps not to injure or kill its guests accidentally. If it fails to do so, and the injuries are fatal, the deceased’s next of kin can sue the hotel in a wrongful death lawsuit.

In July, a jury awarded $2 million in a wrongful death case involving the Econo Lodge in Erlanger. Seventy-six-year-old Alex Chronis was scalded and severely burned by hot water while taking a shower in November 2021, according to the lawsuit. He died in June 2022 of his injuries, reports CNN.

Chronis allegedly sustained third-degree burns on his body, which eventually led to his death. Chronis entered the shower and was hit with scalding hot water, which knocked him to the shower floor, where it continued to hit him. Two people traveling with him came to his aid after hearing him scream in pain.

The water was more than 150 degrees, according to the survivor’s attorney. Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if they’re exposed to 150-degree water for two seconds.

Chronis was a food vendor visiting the Cincinnati area as part of his work at a local festival. He went to a local hospital and used nonprescription medicine before going to work.

Chronis returned to the hospital for skin graft surgery two days later and stayed there for nearly five months. He went to a rehabilitation facility in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Chronis had numerous medical procedures and suffered substantial pain and suffering before dying of his injuries.

The jury found motel owner Sanjay Patel was negligent by failing to exercise ordinary care by not inspecting and maintaining rooms in a reasonably safe condition. The judgment awarded Chronis’ estate almost $1.3 million for medical expenses, $250,000 for his pain and suffering, and $500,000 in punitive damages.

Kentucky Mothers Sues South Carolina Resort Due to Death of Her Daughter

Destiny Morgan has a wrongful death case pending against a Myrtle Beach hotel where her four-year-old daughter, Demi Williams, drowned in 2021. The Crown Reef Resort is accused of negligence in the case.

Demi Williams died in a hotel swimming pool, according to WMBF. Her family is from Kentucky and was vacationing in the area. Morgan was arrested and charged with unlawful neglect of a child, but those charges were later dismissed.

The lawsuit claims Morgan took her children to the hotel’s pool area. Williams asked to go to their lazy river pool, which is roughly three feet deep. Morgan waited for her to come back and started searching for her when she failed to do so.

The Crown Reef Resort responded to the lawsuit by denying allegations of wrongdoing. The hotel claimed there were multiple warning signs that there was no lifeguard in the pool area. They claim it was Morgan’s responsibility to keep her daughter safe, not theirs. Whether that’s an effective defense depends on the facts and South Carolina law.

Hotel Sued for Sexual Assaults Allegedly Committed by an Employee

Negligence can include hiring the wrong person for a job, failing to supervise them, and putting them in a position to harm you.

Seven women filed lawsuits against Omni Hotels because of the alleged actions of one of its Louisville employees, Colin Stephenson, in 2019. Plaintiffs claim the assaults included non-consensual sexual touching by Stephenson, who was employed as a masseuse, according to WAVE.

The plaintiffs claim Stephenson was fired from a prior job due to similar accusations, and the hotel should’ve known about that and not hired him or knew about it but hired him anyway, putting the plaintiffs in danger.

The hotel claimed it does criminal background checks on all employees in direct contact with guests.

Speak To a Kentucky Personal Injury Attorney Today

If a hotel’s careless or negligent actions caused your injuries, Satterley & Kelley PLLC attorneys can help you protect your legal rights to compensation. Don’t deal with a severe injury alone.

Call our Louisville office at 502-589-5600 (toll-free at 855-385-9532) or complete our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation. We can discuss your case, how Kentucky law may apply, and what you should do next.