Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

A verdict in excess of $38 million dollars was rendered in favor of a victim who slipped and fell from the balcony of a motel after it was alleged that the railings were too short. The 25-year old victim was taken to a hospital and his blood alcohol content after the fall was more than three times the legal limit to drive. After awaking from a coma, the victim had no memory of how he came to be lying on the ground.

Allegations were made that the victim fell from a second floor hotel balcony railing which was below the legal height limit by 8 inches. A difficult case existed due to the fact there were no witnesses and it was necessary to prove by circumstantial evidence including bio-mechanical evidence that the only way the victim could have suffered the injuries was by virtue of falling over the balcony. Allegations were also made that defendant failed to preserve any surveillance videos of the scene and suppressed evidence.

Of course, the defense strongly contended that the fall was due to the victim’s admitted intoxication and that the victim did not fall from the balcony therefore ruling out the possibility of code violations causing his injury.

There have been a growing number of incidents involving individuals falling from balconies at popular hotels, motels, and holiday resorts particularly over the holidays when people have a tendency to drink more frequently while on vacation.

As an experienced hotel accident and premise liability lawyer who has litigated premise liability and balcony fall cases for the last three decades, I am well aware that many hotel balconies fail to meet building codes and minimal safety guidelines set for balconies. Many hotels built before the 1990’s are grandfathered into older safety requirements and have lower rails posing a danger for guests. Unfortunately the number of individuals falling to their deaths from hotel balconies continues to increase each year in the United States and many hotels are now taking greater steps to make their balconies safer by adding plexiglass enclosures to protect their guests, particularly small children.

International building codes require hotel balcony railings to be at least 42 inches high and each rail or post should be no further than 4 inches apart. The balcony must also be built with materials strong enough to withstand a strong load which means that they should not be flexible or able to be moved if someone pushes against them.

Hotel owners owe their guests the highest duty of care and are responsible for maintaining their property in such a condition that no unsafe condition in their hotel can lead to a slip and fall accident or balcony fall.

Obviously during the holidays when the weather is warm, the balcony is likely to become a gathering spot for friends and guests and most likely many times it goes without saying that people may have had a drink or two.

Many existing decks and balconies are the scenes of accidents waiting to happen. A railing collapse and balcony fall may expose the owners of the premise to liability on the basis of negligence, premise liability law, product liability, and construction law. Individuals have a right to expect that when they step on a porch, deck, or balcony, it is safe to support their weight and that the railing and guard system is safe as well.

Every holiday season, we learn of individuals who sustained a catastrophic injury or wrongful death due to a balcony railing collapse or material failure. Hotels and motels should maintain a regular inspection and maintenance program and owe their business invitee guests the duty to make sure the premise is safe and that balconies and railings are installed and maintained in accordance with appropriate codes to ensure their safety.

The experienced balcony fall and defective balcony lawyers of Reiff and Bily have had a significant experience with a successful track record representing those who were injured as a result of porch collapse, balcony collapse, and railing failures. We always offer a free no obligation consultation and promise that we will never charge a fee unless we make a successful recovery on your behalf.

In 2008, a gentleman was shot while parking his car at an Embassy Suites Hotel in Florida. The victim was instructed to park his car in a dimly lit area of the parking lot even though it was 50 to 60 feet from the hotel entrance. Although a critical flood light had been installed to illuminate the area where the victim parked his car, it was not working on the night of the shooting despite the fact that the Assistant Hotel General Manager testified at trial contra to evidence that all the lights were working and the parking lot was “perfect”. It is important to note that a similar strong armed robbery had occurred in the same parking lot ten days earlier.

During the trial, evidence was introduced indicating that a security guard on the premises was delivering “bell carts” and responding to “guest requests” 25 minutes prior to the shooting rather than providing security of any kind. Evidence revealed that the security guard spent more time responding to guest requests for bell carts, towels, and bed items than providing security and controlling the exterior of the hotel on the evening of the shooting.

Continue reading "Attack in Hotel Parking Lot Results in $1.7 Million Dollar Verdict" »

As a hotel inadequate security and hotel attack attorney who has investigated a large number of hotel attack claims, I often listen to representatives of a hotel company or their insurance carriers state that due to the age of the hotel, they are unable to possess the latest in technology. Frankly, this argument has never made much sense to me due to the fact that the latest technology is quite sophisticated when it comes to terms of size and installation of cameras, lighting, fiber optic cabling, and wireless transmission of data. What many hotels have in common is wasted excess space or exterior barriers of security perimeters where vagrants or assailants may lie in wait for a victim.

I spend many nights a year away from my home in strange hotels with my carefully trained eyes and senses fully tuned for security breaches and means of crime and attack prevention. I believe that the first step in hotel security lies with the proper training of all staff members from the “bottom up" so that they are vigilant for any unusual activities which may give reason to believe that criminal activity is afoot. When a maid goes into a room to clean it or an engineer goes into a room to repair something, if he notices anything outside of the ordinary, it must immediately be reported to hotel management who prudently should investigate the situation in further detail. Employee education is step one in insuring the safety and security of hotel guests.

In inner cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, or Atlanta, most hotels are located in highly trafficked areas, and if the hotel is not large enough to employ their own security personnel, it is important for the hotel to regularly undergo a security evaluation by those trained in security and human awareness behavior patterns.

If the hotel owners or operators state that the hotel is too old for security (poor excuse) or they are not willing to take proper steps to protect their guests, it signals to this experienced hotel attack and breach of security lawyer that the safety of their guests is not priority number one and they are more interested in profitability, no matter what the costs.

All hotels should also conduct evacuation and security drills and focus on the identification of strange and suspicious packages and behavior of those who enter the premises.

In larger cities such as New York and Washington, D.C., the police department and Department of Homeland Security work very closely with hotels to keep them in the loop of any elevated threats or concerns. If a hotel is located in an area where the hotel property owner or management is aware of crime in the immediate or surrounding areas, they have a mandatory obligation to take steps to secure their premises including hiring highly qualified security guards who have undergone careful background checks. Unfortunately many times horrific injuries, attacks, and tragic accidents occur at hotels, motels, resorts, or restaurants due to poor lighting, inadequate security, and the failure to provide easily affordable technology and security devices such as closed circuit cameras and proper lighting.

Ignorance of a dangerous situation can lead to a victim or victim’s family holding the hotel liable for monetary damages if a mandated security protocol is not followed to insure visitors or guests' safety.

The Pennsylvania premise liability and hotel inadequate security law firm of Reiff and Bily always offers a free, no obligation consultation to those who have suffered a physical assault, robbery, or sexual assault due to negligent security. If you would like a free, no obligation consultation, please contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Many times a month, I find myself traveling for business and in strange hotel rooms. I am constantly amazed at how designers of hotel rooms and the corporations that manage hotels neglect health and safety concerns when they have an obligation to provide a safe bathroom environment to guests. The health and safety of guests should be the primary concern when designing any bathroom, particularly those at hotels where the well-being of guests is paramount and the surroundings are unfamiliar and unknown to many visiting guests.

While fine hotels often spend money on fine toiletries, many times they fail to provide bathroom safety factors such as grab rails, non-slip tiles, or select bathtubs with slippery versus non-slippery surfaces. Many times hotels do not properly monitor or control temperature fluctuations in showers which can fluctuate in the fraction of a second and cause severe scalding burns.

The Philadelphia premise liability and hotel accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily understand that legislative standards are only minimal standards and that hotels have an obligation to safely protect their guests which should be priority number one.

The premise liability and slip and fall accident law firm of Reiff and Bily is a nationally recognized personal injury law firm that has represented many clients who have sustained serious injuries as a result of slip and falls that occur in hotels. Our Philadelphia premise liability lawyers have helped many clients recover the maximum monetary compensation possible for their slip and fall cases with multiple slip and fall cases resulting in settlements and verdicts in the six and seven figure range. We understand premise liability and slip and fall laws and have been successfully tackling our opponents for over three decades. Call today for a free consultation toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com to receive a free case evaluation from one of our Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyers.

Recently a young boy drowned while swimming at night in a swimming pool owned by a major hotel chain while attending a wedding reception. Although alcohol was involved, there were numerous other violations pointing to owner/operator negligence for swimming pool operations and premise liability which led to the tragic death. Recently I was a guest at another major hotel chain with an indoor pool and was surprised to notice that the hotel did not secure the pool at night by locking doors even though claiming it was closed during evening hours. The hotel’s actions indicated that guests were allowed to swim at night and the area was dimly and darkly lit. The hotel also had business and social functions ongoing in the lobby and bar areas and it was very possible for guests who were intoxicated to enter the pool.

In the hotel swimming pool drowning accident case where the boy drowned, an aquatic safety consultant was retained and stated that the hotel was negligent in that it failed to secure the pool at night with locked doors or gates even though they claimed it was closed during evening hours. Routine pool controls and patrols were not conducted for safety and the pool was lacking safety signs, rescue and resuscitation equipment. There was no one on staff ultimately in charge of the pool and in fact, many of the safety breaches which led to the finding of liability on behalf of the hotel chain were in violation of the company’s written policies.

As an experienced Philadelphia hotel safety and Philadelphia swimming pool accident lawyer for over thirty years, I understand that safety is priority number one and that hotels and motels owe the highest duty of care to those who visit the premises as customers to insure their safety and protect them from significant harm or death. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a swimming pool accident, please contact us for a free, no obligation consultation toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.