Most slip and fall or trip and fall cases involve customers getting hurt in stores or other businesses because of something wrong with floors. If you go into a store or a business, it must get rid of dangers that can hurt you, barricade the area with the danger, or put up some kind of warning about the danger. A store must also keep an eye out for dangers and police its property for things that can hurt customers. It can’t simply turn a blind eye.
But when you are a guest at a hotel, Missouri law requires the hotel to do more than other businesses to protect its guests. It’s called the innkeeper rule. There is a special relationship between hotel operators and their guests, so as to impose affirmative duties in the protection of the guests and their property. Keeping an eye out is not enough. The hotel is required to make sure its property is safe for guests.
This requirement applies not only to the hotel, but to the hotel restaurants, bars, and attached businesses. Many hotels have restaurants in their lobbies and this rule applies to those places even if they are owned by separate entities.
If you have been injured at a hotel or in a business attached to a hotel and you have questions about your rights, please contact our firm. We would be happy to answer any questions you have about your potential claim.