Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

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.

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.