A recent New Jersey lawsuit involving the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City illustrates a simple case, with straightforward facts, that highlights an important rule of law for hotels.
Plaintiff was a construction worker engaged on an outdoor project away from his hometown. While on the job, he was a guest at the Borgata. One morning he headed toward an exit, slipped on a puddle of water and was injured. As a result, he had to hire others to do parts of his work, causing a “drastic reduction” in income. He sued.
To oversee the safety of the hotel, it employs various workers called rovers. One is assigned to each of four zones in and around the casino, hotel and lobby. The lobby where plaintiff fell is located in two zones and was monitored by multiple rovers.
As discussed several times in this column, a hotel is liable to its guests for injuries only if they were caused by the hotel’s negligence. If plaintiff fails to prove this, the case will be dismissed.
A hotel is not an insurer of its guests’ safety. The hotel’s legal duty is to make periodic inspections of the premises and address any dangerous conditions. The frequency of the inspections must be “reasonable,” which is dictated by numerous factors including the occupancy rate, the type and number of events scheduled at the time, the number of people milling about, the layout of the facility and like considerations.
Our plaintiff at the casino could not prove how long the water had been on the floor. Without this evidence, a jury cannot say whether or not the hotel should have corrected the slippery condition. The plaintiff’s injuries were unfortunate, but the facility will not be liable unless the plaintiff can prove the hotel disregarded a problem that had existed long enough that it should have attracted the hotel’s attention.
The moral of the story: Be sure to regularly check your premises, adjusting frequency based on circumstances. Fix any dangerous conditions discovered. If sued, don’t despair. If you follow these simple suggestions, your plaintiff will likely be unable to prove that the condition existed long enough to impose liability.
hwn@questex.com
