You can sue Las Vegas hotels for negligence when you slip-and-fall on their wet, slippery, or uneven floors. This could lead to a settlement where the hotel pays for all of your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Even if you were partially to blame for the fall incident – such as by running – the hotel could still be legally liable to pay a portion of your damages.
How do I sue for a slip-and-fall accident?
If you take a fall at a hotel, you can sue it for negligence. To win a negligence claim at trial, you have the burden to prove that:
- The hotel (defendant) had a duty of care to keep the premises safe for you;
- The hotel breached this duty by allowing the floor to become dangerous;
- The hotel’s breach proximately caused you to slip on the floor; and
- This slip caused your injuries.1
Under the legal doctrine of premises liability, the hotel as a commercial property owner/operator has an obligation to keep the grounds safe and to warn guests of any dangerous conditions.2
So if for example a walkway becomes wet – such as during a routine cleaning or if a patron spills a drink – hotels should take action. All too often however, staff may fail to cordon off the area or put out a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign in time.
Helpful evidence in these types of fall cases includes:
- Photos or video of the accident scene showing the hazardous conditions (such as broken handrails, uneven floorboards, cracked pavement, broken stairs, wet floors, etc.);
- Eyewitness testimony of hotel patrons who saw the fall;
- The shoes and clothes you were wearing at the time;
- Invoices and maintenance records from the hotel, which show when they last repaired the floor and if they rushed to fix the floor after your accident;
- A sample of what you slipped on (such as beer, loose carpeting, etc.); and
- Your medical records from after the fall (showing broken bones, contusions, traumatic brain injuries, etc.).
Note that hotels are not strictly liable (automatically at fault) when you have an accident on their grounds. You have to prove they fell short of their duty of care in order to recover damages from them.
What money damages can I get?
Following a slip-and-fall in a Las Vegas hotel, you may sue for compensatory damages to cover all of your:
- Medical bills (such as for your emergency room stays, operations, hospital stays, follow-up doctor’s appointments, OTC and prescription medications, physical therapy/rehab, home health care, and any assistive devices like crutches, wheelchairs, or splits),
- Property loss (such as if your watch, shoes, or phone were cracked or broken from the fall),
- Lost wages (the money you did not earn because you were too injured to work),
- Lost earning capacity (the money that your disabilities – whether temporary or permanent – prevent you from earning in the future),
- Pain and suffering (including mental anguish, scarring, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life), and
- Other out-of-pocket expenses, such as Uber fares or gasoline expended to see your doctor.
If your family member died, you can also sue for “loss of support” in a wrongful death claim.
The vast number of injury claims resolve through negotiations between your accident lawyers and the hotel’s law firm. Hotels carry commercial insurance policies with very high limits that can pay out far more financial compensation than private policies do.
In the rare event negotiations fail, the case can proceed to a trial. Then if you win, your accident attorney could also ask the court to order punitive damages to punish the hotel for its behavior.
Punitive damages can be as much as three times the compensatory damages. Though if the compensatory damages come to less than $100,000, then the cap would be $300,000.3
Nevada hotels are liable for slip-and-falls as long as they were at least 50% to blame.
What if I was partially to blame?
Under Nevada’s comparative negligence laws, you can still recover damages for a slip-and-fall at a hotel as long as you were no more than 50% to blame. Examples of negligent behavior that may make you partly at fault for causing a fall include:
- running through the lobby,
- going barefoot or wearing flimsy footwear at the hotel gym,
- walking while texting by a swimming pool, or
- being extremely inebriated in a crowded casino or ballroom.
If you partly caused your injury, then the hotel does not have to pay out as much as it would have if you were blameless. For instance, if a court finds that you are 50% to blame, then the hotel would have to pay 50% less than it would otherwise.4
How long do I have to sue?
Nevada’s statute of limitations for negligence is two (2) years after you discover the injury. You usually know whether you are injured or not right after the accident. Though sometimes it takes weeks or longer for a fall injury to manifest itself.5
Who else can be sued?
Other potential defendants in a hotel slip-and-fall lawsuit may be:
- The interior decorating company that picked out the faulty flooring;
- The construction company that built the hotel;
- The hotel employees who caused the floor to become a fall hazard; and/or
- The hotel patrons who may have caused the floor to become slippery (such as by spilling a drink)
Learn more about suing for hotel injuries in Nevada with a personal injury lawyer.
What should I do after a slip and fall?
It is always recommended you as the injured party seek medical attention as soon as possible after a fall, even if you feel well. The more time that elapses between the fall and you getting medical care, the harder it is to prove that the fall caused your injuries.
If possible, take photos or videos of the scene of the fall right after it happens. If you cannot do it, ask a friend to do it. Also take down the contact information of any eyewitnesses. All this will serve as invaluable evidence during negotiations.
Then you should seek legal advice from a slip and fall attorney right away. It takes time for a legal team to craft a winning personal injury case and to compile all the available evidence to prove liability.
A personal injury attorney can also match you with a doctor willing to provide you medical treatment on a lien basis. This way, you do not pay until you get a settlement for your liability claim.
Meanwhile, document everything – even the mileage you drive between your home and your doctor. Every expense incidental to your fall will play a part in your ultimate settlement.
Additional resources
For more information, refer to the following:
- If you’re hurt in a fall, follow these tips for recovery – Article by the Washington Post.
- Slip, Trip, and Fall Prevention – Guide by Yale.
- How to fall without injury – Piece by Harvard Medical School.
- Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls in the Workplace – Advice provided by Safety Culture.
- Slips, Trips, and Falls – Tips by the CDC for young retail workers.
- Filing a Slip and Fall Claim in Las Vegas, NV – 5 steps – Related article by our Henderson and Las Vegas slip and fall lawyers.
Legal References
- See Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entertainment, (2008) 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172; see Hammerstein v. Jean Dev. West, (1995) 111 Nev. 1471, 907 P.2d 975.
- See Galloway v. McDonalds Restaurants, (1986) 102 Nev. 534, 728 P.2d 826.
- NRS 42.005.
- Piroozi v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, (2015) 131 Nev. 1004, 363 P.3d 1168.
- NRS 11.190.
