Motels provide travelers a nice place to sleep for a reasonable price while they are traveling. But, every year thousands of people are injured in motel accidents. Under the laws of the United States, when someone else injures you because they are reckless or careless, they may be legally responsible for paying you for your injuries as well as your pain and suffering.
Types and Causes of Motel Accidents
Motels have a variety of different facilities. People are often injured in the common areas such as the lobby, pool, and fitness center. Even the individual rooms can be sources of injuries. Some of the most common types of motel accidents include:
- Slip and falls on food or drink that was not cleaned up
- Trip and fall over cords or uneven flooring
- Drowning
- Illness from improperly maintained pools and hot tubs
- Elevators accidents
- Bed bug bites
- Assaults
- Injuries in stairs
- Electrical shock
While you will not be able to successfully file a claim for an injury that happened because of your own carelessness, if someone else is at fault for the accident, you may be able to file a claim for the motel accident.
The owners of a motel are responsible for the actions of their employees. When an employee creates an unsafe condition or fails to clean up a dangerous condition and someone gets hurt, the motel ownership will be legally liable for the damages.
Types of Injuries in Motel Accidents
Just as there are numerous ways for a motel accident to happen, there are many different types of injuries. Some of the most common injuries are:
- Strains and sprains of muscles
- Fractured bones
- Traumatic head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal injuries
- Water-borne bacterial illness
- Head and neck injuries
- Torn ligaments and tendons
- Bites, lacerations, contusions
Often when people are injured in public, they are embarrassed and just want to forget about the incident. If you don’t require emergency treatment, the temptation may be to let your injuries heal on their own. However, you may have internal injuries you are not aware of. Also, what you believe to be a simple sprain may actually be a more serious injury that requires stronger medical intervention.
You should be checked out by a medical professional within the first two to three days after being injured, This will make sure that get the treatment you need to heal.
Getting medical treatment also provides you with documentation of your injury and the cause of your injury. This can be important if you later have to file a claim against the motel.
Where to Bring a Claim
If you are in a motel, chances are you are far from home. Personal injury cases are most often brought in the area where the accident occurred. You will need to find a personal injury lawyer from the city, county, or surrounding area to help you pursue your claim.
Even if your case isn’t going to end up in a lawsuit, you will still need a lawyer who understands the local rules and laws that govern personal injury claims.
Winning a Claim
Most motels carry premises liability insurance. This insurance covers injuries that happen on the motel property that are caused because of the negligence of the motel or the motel employees.
The first step in the claims process is to issue a detailed demand to the motel or its insurance company. The demand covers the amount of money the injured party believes they are entitled to and a detailed breakdown of the reasons for the amount.
Insurance companies are for profit entities. They do not want to pay out more money then they have to. If you want to get properly compensated for your claim you will need to prove to the insurance company that you would likely win a court case and that it is cheaper to pay the claim rather than fight it.
The Advantages of Hiring a Lawyer for a motel accident
Some people are reluctant to hire a personal injury lawyer because they mistakenly believe the lawyer will cost too much. Almost all personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means they don’t get paid unless you win.
Personal injury lawyers and the insurance company both handle hundreds of cases and understand all the complications of personal injury lawyers. You will almost always recover more money with a skilled personal injury lawyer, even after the lawyer takes his or her fees, than you would by trying to negotiate a claim by yourself.
If you have been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, you are legally entitled to be compensated for your injuries. You don’t have to face the claims process alone.
Let us help you find a personal injury lawyer with a proven track record of hold motels responsible and of helping clients get the compensation they deserve.
Contact us today before time runs out on your claim.
