Category Archives: Liability

by | January 16, 2012 · 7:13 am

Hospitality Inudustry Insurance Risks: Restaurants Are Adding New "Business Innovations" That May Not Be Covered By Existing Insurance Coverages

“…Many (restaurants) are turning to innovations to grow their business. While that can be a plus for their balance sheets, it can also open the door to unexpected liabilities that their insurance policies were not designed to cover…”

Agents can head off this scenario and build a strong consultative relationship with their restaurant customers by asking key questions at renewal time. Here are some of the trends that could put restaurants at risk and the questions agents should ask their restaurant customers :

  1. Mobility. Has the restaurant added new services, such as delivery of meals using hired drivers with their own cars?
  2. Branch out businesses. Has the restaurant started a new line of business, such as catering?
  3. Trendy foods. Has the restaurant introduced new menu offerings as part of the strategy for attracting more customers, such as locally sourced foods, an emphasis on organic ingredients or assurances about non-allergenic ingredients?
  4. Additional payment methods. Is the restaurant accepting new methods of payment, such as online credit charges or smartphone purchasing?

All too often, the lack of appropriate coverage only becomes evident when a mishap occurs and a claim is filed. After someone has already threatened to sue for damages is usually a bad time for restaurant owners to discover they should have consulted with their insurance agent about their insurance needs before changing their business model.

For more:  http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2012/01/12/4-trends-that-can-put-restaurants-at-risk

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Filed under Claims, Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Training

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by | January 15, 2012 · 1:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Family Of Housekeeper Who Died Falling Down Service Elevator Shaft; State Required Inspection Two-Weeks Overdue

“…Gloria Rodriguez, 65, had been an employee at the Crockett Hotel for 12 years when she fell six stories down the service elevator shaft Dec. 28. The elevator’s state-required annual inspection was more than two weeks overdue at the time…”

The family of a Crockett Hotel housekeeper who plunged to her death down an open elevator shaft last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Named in the suit are New Jersey-based Otis Elevator Company and 1859-Historic Hotels Ltd., a Galveston-based company that owns the Crockett Hotel and the nearby Menger Hotel in downtown San Antonio.

“Based upon current information, it is believed that she attempted to get on the elevator but when the doors opened there was no elevator, causing her to fall,” Houston-based attorney James Hada wrote in the suit, filed Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Wrongful-death-suit-filed-for-fatal-elevator-2519149.php#ixzz1jSJFD4KN

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Filed under Claims, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

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by | January 14, 2012 · 2:10 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Chicago Hotel Pool Remains Closed Due To Failure To Comply With Federal Law Requiring Drains To Be Fitted With Large Covers And Backup Systems

“…The law requires drains to be fitted with larger covers and backup systems. It affects all public pools and spas, including those at apartment and condo complexes, hotels and health clubs…Since the law went into effect, the commission first removed the backup requirement, then reinstated it, bowing to pressure from the industry and then to safety advocates…”

Sunlight still bathes the mosaic tile, terra-cotta fountain and potted palms at the Hotel InterContinental’s iconic indoor pool. But no bathers ripple the water. Stuck in regulatory purgatory, the pool has been closed since October.

The junior Olympic-sized pool is one of the better-known in the city and once drew famous visitors like “Tarzan” star Johnny Weissmuller. Now, it’s among nearly 300 public pools across Illinois still listed as noncompliant with federal regulations designed to reduce the risk of swimmers being sucked into drains and drowning.

Hotel officials say their pool will reopen soon. And many of the other facilities are outdoors and would be closed in winter, anyway. But with so many affected sites, expensive fixes and delays in getting state approval, some pool operators wonder if they’ll be ready come spring.

For more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-pool-drains-update-20120115,0,7498748.story

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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Pool And Spa

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by | January 13, 2012 · 7:16 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: California Hotel Robbery Suspect Entered Guest Rooms Through "Open Doors" And "While Faking A Disability To Avoid Suspicion"

“… in rooms where guests left without closing their doors tightly, jewelry, watches, electronics and wallets were missing. “He had credit cards from some of the victims, we believe he was involved in fraud and identity theft.”

“…Hotel workers told us they believe Hudson used a handicapped placard on his car, and walked with a limp. They speculate that is because of his apparent disability. Some hotel patrons may have opened side doors and let him in…”

Fresno police have arrested a suspect in a series of burglaries in hotels and motels in the Central Valley. Police have linked James McGovern to burglaries at three hotels in Fresno. He’s also a suspect in burglaries in Kingsburg, Clovis, Madera and Chowchilla.

Police think McGovern slipped in through side doors as guests left, and then walked the halls, looking for targets. Fresno Police Sergeant Mark Hudson told Action News the Airport Holiday Inn, The Marriot Courtyard and Homewood Suites in Fresno were among those McGovern hit. “He was going into these hotels and just checking for open doors, maybe where maids had been in going in stealing the TV’s.”

For more: http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8503146

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Filed under Claims, Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

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by | January 12, 2012 · 7:00 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Washington State Supreme Court To Hear Restaurant Operator's "Products Liability And Negligence Lawsuit"; Employee "Spat On Hamburger"

An appeals court asked a state supreme court for help in deciding whether to revive a case by a police officer against Burger King over a Whopper he says a worker spat on.

Bylsma sued Burger King and restaurant operator Kaizen Restaurants Inc under products liability and negligence laws. He said he suffered ongoing emotional trauma from the incident, including vomiting, nausea, food anxiety and insomnia that required professional help.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Wednesday asked the Washington Supreme Court to clarify whether Washington law would allow the officer to recover damages for emotional harm when he only touched, but did not eat, the contaminated burger.

Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Edward Bylsma said in the lawsuit that he drove his police cruiser through a Burger King drive-thru in Vancouver, Washington, in March 2009. He had “uneasy feeling” about the two employees that served him, the complaint said. When Bylsma later examined the burger, he noticed a large glob of spit on the meat patty. He touched the substance, but did not eat the burger.

DNA testing revealed the saliva belonged to one of the Burger King employees, who pled guilty to assault and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, the court opinion said.

For more: http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/01_-_January/9th_Circuit_asks_state_court_to_weigh_in_on_Whopper_spit_suit/

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Filed under Claims, Employment Practices Liability, Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management

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by | January 10, 2012 · 3:26 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Woman Files "Negligence Lawsuit" Against Major Hotel Group After Front Desk Staff Gives Room Key To "Drunken Man" Who Assaults Her

A New York business woman is suing Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, claiming staff at one of their hotels gave her room key to a drunken man who allegedly sexually assaulted her in her bed.

 “…suing the company for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress for an amount to be determined at trial…”

Alison Fournier announced the suit today at a news conference with women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred. According to the suit, Fournier was in her locked room in Hotel Kämp, a hotel operated by Starwood Hotels in Helsinki, Finland, on the night of Jan. 15, 2011 when she was sexually assaulted.

The man, who was “visibly intoxicated,” had undressed, slipped into her bed, and proceeded to grope her naked body, the suit says.

That same man, according to the suit, later went to the front desk, said that he was Fournier’s husband, and obtained a key from hotel staff to her room.

The staff did not ask him for any identification or proof that he was in fact Fournier’s husband, according to the lawsuit. He then proceeded to her room and tried to molest her. She awoke, grabbed a housecoat, and ran screaming from the room.

For more:  http://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-sues-hotel-claiming-drunken-man-room-key/story?id=15324761

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management

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by | January 9, 2012 · 6:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Ten Indiana Hotels Named In "Overtime Lawsuit" Involving Housekeepers And Food Service Staff

 “…to get all the rooms cleaned, she didn’t take lunch breaks or worked past the end of her shift…she estimates she is owed $5,200 for unpaid work over the past two years…”

 “…intends to ask the court to make the lawsuit a class action open to more than 1,000 local hotel employees who worked for Hospitality Staffing during the past three years…”

An attorney representing 14 Indianapolis hourly hotel workers plans to file a lawsuit today alleging their employers failed to pay them for overtime. Ten Indianapolis hotels, including some of the city’s largest, and the staffing company for which the employees worked, Hospitality Staffing Solutions, are named in the prepared complaint. Jeffrey A. Macey, an Indianapolis attorney for the workers, said he plans to file the 24-page document today in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.

Most of the 14 workers making the allegations were housekeepers or food service staff.

For more:  http://www.indystar.com/article/20120109/LOCAL18/201090328/10-Indianapolis-hotels-named-lawsuit-alleging-workers-weren-t-paid-overtime?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CIndyStar.com

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by | January 7, 2012 · 8:11 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel Owner Settles "Wrongful Death" Lawsuit For Over $250,000 Of Man Who Was Trapped By "Suction Of The Pool Drain"

“…Mr. Williams’ widow… sued the club and its owner, Daniel Griffin, along with Elmhurst Corp., the hotel owner, claiming her husband became trapped in the suction of the pool drain…”

The settlement is confidential and lawyers would not discuss it, although court filings indicate that Mr. Williams’ daughter in Buffalo, N.Y., received $264,000, which represents part of the settlement.

A wrongful death suit against a Downtown hotel and a defunct athletic club involving the drowning of a Penn Hills man in 2009 has been settled for an undisclosed amount. Lorenzo Williams, 38, drowned on April 11, 2009, in the pool at the former Downtown Athletic Club adjacent to the Doubletree City Center.

Ms. Williams said Mr. Griffin, who rented the space for the club from the hotel, was negligent in not making sure the pool was safe by installing a drain cover as required by federal law.

The club closed in May 2009 after its lease expired.

The crux of the case was the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, a federal law passed in 2007 requiring all pools and spas to have special drain covers to keep children from getting trapped.

The law was created after Virginia Baker, the 8-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker III, drowned in 2002 after being trapped by a hot tub drain.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12007/1202018-53.stm#ixzz1imyIW57P

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by | January 5, 2012 · 6:42 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Florida Hotel Fire Possibly Caused By Guest "Manufacturing Drugs"; $35,000 In Property Damage And Contents Loss

“…firefighters suspected that the room could have been used to manufacture drugs. Investigators noted that the occupant was seen “running away with soot and possibly with burns…”

 “Heavy fire was coming from the 4th floor southeast corner” when crews began to arrive at the hotel…

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating to determine what caused a 1:00 a.m. hotel fire that resulted in the evacuation of dozens of guests and racked up an estimated $35,000 in property damage and contents loss during the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

First responders launched an immediate search for victims, evacuated guests on adjoining floors, established a water supply and began to attack the flames.

Once extinguished, crews searched for additional fire above, behind and beside the fire room, Aviles said. “Once the fire was extinguished crews left the scene intact for incoming investigators.” According to the fire report, the major damage was confined to the 4th floor hotel room and did not spread.

Sheriff’s representative Chuck Mulligan told reporters this afternoon that the police may have located the occupant of the room, however, details have not yet been confirmed.

For more:  http://www.historiccity.com/2012/staugustine/news/florida/injuries-reported-ramada-inn-fire-morning-21950

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by | January 4, 2012 · 6:13 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Louisiana Hotels' "Business Centers" Used For "Online Prostitution"; Pictures And Ads Found On Computers

“…Prosecutors say a Houston man who had used a hotel business center to post online ads offering a woman for prostitution faces up to 10 years in prison…”

“… posted online advertisements for sexual services and reportedly kept all the profits his victims made…”

A Houston man has pleaded guilty to transporting a woman for commercial sex, the US Attorney’s Office says. In court, 30-year-old Jerald Bland admitted he transported a woman to Louisiana so she could engage in prostitution.

Bland, aka “Moe Betta”, was arrested following an undercover Houston Police investigation in March 2010. Officers discovered a camera containing pictures of women in sexually provocative poses and Bland flashing money.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 20, 2012. If convicted, Bland faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Upon release, he also faces a lifetime sentence of supervised release.

Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/120103-man-pleads-guilty-in-sex-trafficking-case#ixzz1iUwAekmu

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