Maison Law can represent you or a loved one if you’ve been hurt in a hotel accident in California. One of the most widespread and budget-friendly chains you’ll find here are Ramada Inns. These hotels are built with your convenience and finances in mind, but that also means you could face an accident that leaves you injured. To discuss your potential legal options, contact us today for a free consultation.
Should You Hire a Lawyer?
When you get hurt, you probably have a lot of questions. This is especially true in an accident at a hotel like the Ramada Inn, because a wide range of injuries can result. But whether or not you need a lawyer depends on your needs. There’s actually no legal requirement in California that says you have to have a lawyer represent you. In fact, if your incident was only minor, you probably don’t need to worry about taking legal action. But in the event that your injuries are more serious, or you have questions about liability, reaching out to our team can help you. Here’s how:
- Investigating what happened – We’ll conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding your accident to gather evidence that can support your claim. This may involve reviewing security footage, interviewing witnesses, and examining maintenance records.
- Communication – Our team will handle all communication with the hotel management, insurance companies, and other parties involved on your behalf. This ensures that you don’t have to deal with the stress of negotiations and can focus on your recovery.
- Negotiation – We will aggressively negotiate with the responsible parties to seek a fair settlement that compensates you for your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Litigation – If a fair settlement cannot be reached through negotiation, our lawyers are prepared to take your case to court and advocate for your rights in front of a judge and jury.
- Making things easier – Throughout the legal process, our team will provide you with support, guidance, and regular updates on the progress of your case. We also strive to make this difficult process easier by taking the burden off of you.
Our main goal is to simplify and streamline the legal process. We offer free consultations and work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there’s no upfront cost for you. Yet, legal matters can be complex and unpredictable. As such, the actual circumstances of what happened are very important for how your claim may play out.
Hotel Accidents and Liability
Because a Ramada Inn is designed with your comfort and convenience in mind, there’s a lot of positives to staying there. From maid services to recreation to food services, these places try to make you as comfortable as possible. However, this also frequently leads to accidents and injuries, usually involving the following:
- Swimming pool accidents – Some Ramada Inn hotels have swimming pools, where accidents like slips on wet surfaces, diving mishaps, or drowning incidents can happen.
- Elevator or escalator accidents – Malfunctions or inadequate maintenance of elevators and escalators can result in accidents such as falls or entrapment, causing various injuries.
- Bed and furniture injuries – Beds and furniture in your room can either be defective or not taken care of, which can lead to accidents such as collapses or falls, injuring you.
- Food poisoning – Improper food handling or hygiene practices with the hotel’s food services can cause foodborne illnesses among you and other guests.
- Assault or theft – Unfortunately, criminal incidents such as assault or theft can occur at hotels, including Ramada Inn properties, when there’s negligent or inadequate security in place.
- Slip and fall accidents – These can occur due to wet floors, uneven surfaces, or cluttered walkways, resulting in injuries such as sprains, fractures, or head trauma.
- Tripping incidents – When luggage or other things are left in hallways or there’s poorly maintained flooring, it can lead to tripping hazards with injuries similar to slip and fall accidents.
Is a Ramada Inn Always Liable?
In California, these incidents fall under “premises liability,” meaning:
- Property owners and managers are responsible for maintaining a safe environment for visitors, customers, and guests.
As such, a Ramada Inn is going to share at least some of the liability whenever there’s an accident or injuries on the property. Specifically, though, there’s the following aspects in play when it comes to your legal rights:
- Duty of care – Property owners must maintain a reasonably safe environment and promptly address any known hazards.
- Hazardous conditions – Hotel management must identify and rectify hazards like wet floors, uneven surfaces, or inadequate lighting.
- Notice – It’s crucial to demonstrate that the hotel was aware of the danger or should have been through regular inspections.
While hotel management (and the company itself) typically bear the primary liability in accidents on their premises, others may share some responsibility:
- Other hotel guests
- Staff members
- Security personnel
- Maintenance workers
- Product manufacturers
Another important element of these cases is that California employs comparative negligence, meaning if you’re partially at fault, your damages could be reduced.
Damages in a Hotel Accident Claim
Any accident that leaves you injured is a very difficult prospect. But what makes a hotel accident frustrating is that (in most cases) it was probably entirely preventable. Still, the injuries you could be facing can leave you with long-lasting challenges. That’s why the law allows you the ability to file an injury claim to recover certain “damages.” Usually, this is done either by filing an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. Both allow you the opportunity to recover:
- Past and future medical expenses.
- Lost wages resulting from the accident.
- Reduced earning capacity if your injuries lead to lasting disability.
- Property damage, covering repair and replacement costs for items lost during the incident.
- Loss of companionship and enjoyment of life.
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress and decreased quality of life.
These damages play a vital role in your recovery from injuries. While this can be challenging in and of itself, our team can support you throughout the entire process. We’ll also make sure you meet California’s statute of limitations for injury claims, which is currently set at:
- Two years from the date of the accident.
California Injury Victims Can Trust Maison Law
At Maison Law, our California hotel accident lawyers understand the profound impact of any accident, especially those that happen to you or a loved one at a hotel like the Ramada Inn. With our approach, we prioritize both your physical and emotional well-being, making sure you have the necessary legal support you need to recover. To get started, contact us today for a free consultation.
