In Las Vegas, visitors to the city often stay at hotels and frequent the casinos. Indeed, according to a fact sheet from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, more than 42.3 million visitors traveled to Las Vegas last year alone. In 2015, 96 percent of all visitors to the city stayed in hotel or motel rooms, and 73 percent of those visitors gambled at a casino at some point during their visit. In other words, a large majority of tourists in Las Vegas spend time at hotels and casinos. But what happens when a tourist slips and falls at their hotel or on the floor of a casino? Who is liable for those injuries that might occur?
Understanding the Seriousness of Slip and Fall Injuries
According to a fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fall-related accidents can be physically devastating, and they can also result in costly medical bills. The CDC reports that about 20 percent of all falls result in “a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury,” and around 2.5 million older adults require treatment in emergency departments each year because of a fall. According to the CDC, slips, trips, and falls are known to result in some of the following injuries:
- Broken bones, including fractures of the wrist, arm, ankle, and hip.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and other forms of head trauma.
- Back injuries.
- Neck injuries.
When an injury victim slips and falls on a spilled drink on the casino floor or trips and falls because of an area of ripped carpeting in a hotel lobby, who is liable? In short, property owners owe a duty to guests to ensure that their premises are free of certain harms. Generally speaking, if a business owner knows about a potential hazard that could lead to a slip, trip, or fall accident, then she or he has a duty to clean it up or repair it.
And property owners can also be liable if they did not know about a potential harm but should have known about it through taking reasonable care of the property. For instance, if a spilled drink remained on the floor of a casino for a couple of hours, a diligent property manager or owner should have seen that spill and cleaned it.
Proving Your Premises Liability Case
If you did slip, trip, or fall at a hotel or casino in Las Vegas, you may be able to file a premises liability lawsuit. You may have an easier time proving that a dangerous condition existed at a hotel or casino given that these places of accommodation and business often have cameras, and you may be able to obtain the footage to help support your case. It is important to recognize that you only have two years from the date of your injury to file your claim, according to Nevada Revised Statutes § 11.190.
An experienced Las Vegas premises liability attorney can discuss your lawsuit with you today. Contact the Ladah Injury & Car Accident Lawyers Las Vegas for more information about how we can help with your claim.