Category Archives: Risk Management

by | June 7, 2010 · 7:14 am

Hospitality Industry Bodily Injury Liability: New Florida Law Will Help Limit “Slip And Fall” Cases And Forced Settlements

“…Maria Coppola says she slipped on pebbles and sand on the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club step..”

“…lawsuits, filed in the past six months in Collier Circuit Court, likely will result in settlements. That’s because defendants want to avoid costs of expensive litigation…”

In April, Gov. Charlie Crist signed House Bill 689, which requires that an injured person must prove a business, municipality or other defendant actually knew about a dangerous condition and should have done something to fix it _ or that the condition occurred often enough that the business should have expected it. These are legal standards known as actual notice, or constructive notice.

“This represents a significant shift and a major victory for business owners and their insurers in slip-and-fall cases,” said Kirkland Miller, an Ave Maria School of Law professor who specializes in premises liability. “More importantly, it could mean a reduction in the number of slip-and-fall cases being filed in Florida …”

For more:   http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jun/06/south-florida-called-no-1-hellhole-slip-fall-lawsu/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Bodily Injury Liability: New Florida Law Will Help Limit “Slip And Fall” Cases And Forced Settlements

Filed under Injuries, Insurance, Legislation, Liability, Risk Management

Tagged as , ,

by | June 4, 2010 · 10:42 am

Hotel Flood Insurance: Flood Damage To Hotels Is Very Complicated And Expensive As Much Of The Mechanical And Technological Infrastructure Can Be Below Street Level

“Flood damage requires an extraordinarily complicated repair process. We have had to manually test every aspect of our mechanical, electrical, information technology and power-generating systems in order to understand what works, what needs to be repaired, and what needs to be replaced. There is an entire city of infrastructure which operates under the Gaylord Opryland campus, the majority of which was fully under water, and thus the assessment process has been extensive.”

“…the company is exploring any potential legal recourse related to the inaccurate predictions company officials received from government officials, who originally thought that the Cumberland River would crest well below Gaylord’s levies.”

The cost to clean up and repair Opryland and other Gaylord Entertainment Co. properties in Nashville will be $215 million to $225 million, the company announced today. The company also plans to lay off more than 1,700 employees June 12.

The Opryland Resort & Convention Center will be closed until Nov. 15, the company estimates. 

Gaylord’s Nashville properties were damaged in historic flooding the first weekend in May. The repair cost is higher than initially anticipated by Reed, who said last month that, while he expected it to exceed a $50 million flood insurance policy, he guessed estimates as high as $200 million were overblown.

Read more: Gaylord: Damages exceed $200 million; 1,743 to lose jobs; Opryland closed until mid-November – Nashville Business Journal

Comments Off on Hotel Flood Insurance: Flood Damage To Hotels Is Very Complicated And Expensive As Much Of The Mechanical And Technological Infrastructure Can Be Below Street Level

Filed under Flood Insurance, Insurance, Liability, Risk Management

Tagged as , ,

by | June 2, 2010 · 7:19 am

Hotel Industry Risk Management: Hotel Owners Must Establish Effective Internal Or Outsourced Risk Reduction Programs To Keep Corporate Insurance Premiums Down And Avoid Legal Violations And Penalties

Little attention is given to the security department as a member of an overall cost-reducing risk-management program. Risk reduction saves money now and in the immediate future and is easily quantifiable

A poorly organized or implemented hotel security program has a direct negative impact on corporate profits. Many organizations are suffering chronically low revenue per available room, resulting in companywide cost-cutting initiatives.

Risk-management considerations are fairly universal and reasonably simple in the hotel industry. Some variations exist, often based on your region and the type of facility you are managing. Some factors to consider that help create an effective program include:

  • defining segments of your operation that cause frequent insurance claims resulting in higher corporate insurance premiums;
  • determining the elements that will tarnish your brand; and
  • assessing what policies and procedural failures or system deficiencies are violations of law, which can lead to crushing civil and criminal penalties.

For more:   http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx?ArticleId=3377&ArticleType=35&PageType=News

Comments Off on Hotel Industry Risk Management: Hotel Owners Must Establish Effective Internal Or Outsourced Risk Reduction Programs To Keep Corporate Insurance Premiums Down And Avoid Legal Violations And Penalties

Filed under Health, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Risk Management

Tagged as , ,