Tag Archives: Liability

by | April 17, 2012 · 8:10 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: "Aggressive" Disabled Plaintiff Attorneys "Identify" Hotels And Restaurants Not In Compliance With ADA Laws And Use "People With Disabilities" To File Lawsuits

“…suits were filed by Ben-Zion Bradley Weitz, a lawyer based in Florida, who has a regular group of people with disabilities from whom he selects plaintiffs. One of them, Todd Kreisler, a man in a wheelchair who lives on the East Side of Manhattan, sued 19 businesses over 16 months – a Chinese restaurant, a liquor store and a sandwich shop among them…”

A small cadre of lawyers, some from out of state, are using New York City’s age and architectural quirkiness as the foundation for a flood of lawsuits citing violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The lawyers are generally not acting on existing complaints from people with disabilities. Instead, they identify local businesses, like bagel shops and delis, that are not in compliance with the law, and then aggressively recruit plaintiffs from advocacy groups for people with disabilities.

The plaintiffs typically collect $500 for each suit, and each plaintiff can be used several times over. The lawyers, meanwhile, make several thousands of dollars, because the civil rights law entitles them to legal fees from the noncompliant businesses.

The practice has set off a debate about whether the lawsuits are a laudable effort, because they force businesses to make physical improvements to comply with the disabilities act, or simply a form of ambulance-chasing, with no one actually having been injured.

The suits may claim a host of problems: at a deli grocery in West Harlem, an overly steep ramp without guardrails, high shelves and a narrowing pathway near the refrigerators; at a yogurt shop in the theater district, no ramp, no bathroom doorknob that can be opened with a closed fist and exposed hot water drains under the bathroom sink; at a flower shop on the Upper East Side, no ramp and shelves that are too high.

For more:  http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=939650&f=22

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: "Aggressive" Disabled Plaintiff Attorneys "Identify" Hotels And Restaurants Not In Compliance With ADA Laws And Use "People With Disabilities" To File Lawsuits

Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Insurance, Legislation, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | · 8:10 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: "Aggressive" Disabled Plaintiff Attorneys "Identify" Hotels And Restaurants Not In Compliance With ADA Laws And Use "People With Disabilities" To File Lawsuits

“…suits were filed by Ben-Zion Bradley Weitz, a lawyer based in Florida, who has a regular group of people with disabilities from whom he selects plaintiffs. One of them, Todd Kreisler, a man in a wheelchair who lives on the East Side of Manhattan, sued 19 businesses over 16 months – a Chinese restaurant, a liquor store and a sandwich shop among them…”

A small cadre of lawyers, some from out of state, are using New York City’s age and architectural quirkiness as the foundation for a flood of lawsuits citing violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The lawyers are generally not acting on existing complaints from people with disabilities. Instead, they identify local businesses, like bagel shops and delis, that are not in compliance with the law, and then aggressively recruit plaintiffs from advocacy groups for people with disabilities.

The plaintiffs typically collect $500 for each suit, and each plaintiff can be used several times over. The lawyers, meanwhile, make several thousands of dollars, because the civil rights law entitles them to legal fees from the noncompliant businesses.

The practice has set off a debate about whether the lawsuits are a laudable effort, because they force businesses to make physical improvements to comply with the disabilities act, or simply a form of ambulance-chasing, with no one actually having been injured.

The suits may claim a host of problems: at a deli grocery in West Harlem, an overly steep ramp without guardrails, high shelves and a narrowing pathway near the refrigerators; at a yogurt shop in the theater district, no ramp, no bathroom doorknob that can be opened with a closed fist and exposed hot water drains under the bathroom sink; at a flower shop on the Upper East Side, no ramp and shelves that are too high.

For more:  http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=939650&f=22

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: "Aggressive" Disabled Plaintiff Attorneys "Identify" Hotels And Restaurants Not In Compliance With ADA Laws And Use "People With Disabilities" To File Lawsuits

Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Insurance, Legislation, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | March 21, 2012 · 11:52 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Hotel Liability For Theft Of Guest's Property Is Limited By Statute In All States; Providing Digital Room Safes Can Limit Total Losses

Under common law, an innkeeper or hotelier was liable for loss or damage to guest’s property for the full value, unless the loss was caused by an act of nature (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.), civil unrest, or the fault of the guest…each state has modified the common law by enacting statutes that limit the hotel’s liability… ordinarily limited to a specific figure, anywhere from $250 to $5,000.

Hotels typically post conspicuous notices indicating that valuables worth more than a certain amount (e.g., $250 or $500) must be deposited in the hotel safe in order to be covered for any loss. (Room safes are generally recommended only if they contain digital keypads, and the guest assumes all responsibility for getting into the safe and keeping the combination confidential.)

Two states have been randomly selected to provide examples of these statutes:

  • The Rhode Island statute states that if the hotel provides a safe for depositing money, jewelry, watches, and the like, and notifies guests by posting a conspicuous notice to that effect, and guests fail to deposit their valuables in the safe, the hotel is not liable for any loss to the valuables. It goes on to add that the hotel is not obligated to accept property for safekeeping that exceeds $500 in value. If a guest deposits property with a value exceeding $500 in the safe, the hotel is not responsible for loss to this property for more than $500, unless there is a special written agreement with the hotel for a greater amount.
  • The New Mexico statute states that the hotel is liable to its guests for loss of their property that is caused by the theft or negligence of the hotel or its staff, up to a limit of $1,000. However, if the hotel provides a suitable safe for safekeeping of money, jewelry, or other valuables, and notifies guests by posting a printed notice in hotel rooms, and guests fail to deposit their valuables in the safe, the hotel will not be liable.

For more:  http://www.adjustersinternational.com/insights_1002EA.cfm

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Hotel Liability For Theft Of Guest's Property Is Limited By Statute In All States; Providing Digital Room Safes Can Limit Total Losses

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | March 17, 2012 · 8:19 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Latest Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Revisions Reflect "Removal Of Barriers"; Restroom Floor Space And Counter Height Are Areas Of Concern

  • Toilet clear floor space: The 1991 standards required 48 inches wide of clear floor space around a toilet. The new 2010 standards require 60 inches of clear floor space around the toilet. Things such as grab bars, toilet paper dispensers and seat protector dispensers are allowed to hang over into that space, but more obtrusive items such as urinals or cabinets are not.
  • Lavatory comparable counter space: Accessible rooms are required to have counter space comparable to that of nonaccessible rooms. “Various people have different needs for countertop space,” Anderson said. “My wife has the need for a lot of countertop space, and having that small little room around the accessible sink really doesn’t meet her needs. So it’s not comparable.”
  • Sales and service counters: The 1991 standards allowed for auxiliary sales and service counters built on to existing desks. The new 2010 standards require accessible counters of full, standard depth—not just ledges or other auxiliary spaces.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7719/New-ADA-changes-could-prove-costly

2 Comments

Filed under Guest Issues, Legislation, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | March 16, 2012 · 12:34 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotels Granted "11th Hour" Reprieve In Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) "Pool Lift Compliance" Mandate

 “…The federal government sought to make public pools, including hotel pools, accessible for people with disabilities in 2010. There are about 51,000 hotels in the USA, and the majority have some kind of a pool…”

The U.S. Justice Department will grant the hotel industry at least a 60-day extension for complying with a new rule aimed at making existing hotel pools compliant with the 22-year-old Americans With Disabilities Act. It’s a decision that the hotel industry lobbied hard for at the 11th hour, as a number of hotel owners and managers suggested they might close their pools or fill in their whirlpools due to the uncertainty the new rules created.

For more:  http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2012/03/hotel-pool-lifts-deadlines-her-confusion-persists/648998/1

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotels Granted "11th Hour" Reprieve In Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) "Pool Lift Compliance" Mandate

Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Legislation, Liability, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , ,

by | February 6, 2012 · 8:23 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: South Carolina Hotel's Swimming Pool Heater May Have Been Leaking Carbon Monoxide For Weeks Prior To Guest's Death

Investigators say the hotel’s swimming pool heater leaked carbon monoxide sometime during the night, killing Moran and injuring at least 17 others. Carbon monoxide readings at the hotel reached 500 and 600 parts per million, South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry said. Authorities say any reading over 30 parts per million is cause for concern.

“…(a guest)… speculated that his death was caused by the swimming pool before investigators confirmed that carbon monoxide leaked from the pool’s heater…”

Staff members at the Holiday Inn Express in South Charleston were aware of a problem with their swimming pool 10 days before an apparent carbon monoxide leak from the pool’s heater killed one and injured several others Tuesday, two Randolph County women said this week.

Lori Burnside, 40, of Montrose, and Danielle Mallow, 38, of Elkins, stayed at the Corridor G hotel with their two daughters on Jan. 21, but said they did not get any sleep because the hotel’s fire alarms kept them awake during the night.

The alarms were blamed on a problem with the indoor swimming pool, they said, which had to be constantly ventilated by the hotel staff.

For more:  http://wvgazette.com/News/201202040030?page=2&build=cache

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Risks: South Carolina Hotel's Swimming Pool Heater May Have Been Leaking Carbon Monoxide For Weeks Prior To Guest's Death

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Training

Tagged as , , , , , ,

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/

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

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

Tagged as , , ,

by | December 28, 2011 · 6:26 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Hawaii Hotel Is Found "Liable" In "Slip-And-Fall Accident" As State Supreme Court Rules "Known Or Obvious Danger" Defense Not Viable

“…Michele R. Steigman sought to recover damages after suffering a slip-and-fall accident while she was a guest of Outrigger Enterprises’ Ohana Surf Hotel….The case went to trial, and a jury found that Outrigger was not negligent…”

“… in Hawaii, the known or obvious danger defense is no longer viable as a complete bar to an injured plaintiff’s claim in the context of premises liability.”

The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled the “known or obvious danger” defense is no longer viable under state law as a complete bar to an injured plaintiff’s premises liability claim. Steigman’s appeal to the Intermediate Court of Appeals resulted in an affirmation of the trial court’s final judgment.

Steigman’s attorneys argued that the ruling goes against a comparative negligence law passed by Hawaii’s legislature in 1969 and modified several times.

The statue states: “Contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in any action by any person or the person’s legal representative to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or in injury to person or property, if such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person or in the case of more than one person, the aggregate negligence of such persons against whom recovery is sought, but any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person for whose injury, damage or death recovery is made.”

Therefore the court ruled the traditional “known and obvious danger defense” conflicts with that statute.

“Steigman contends that the traditional known or obvious danger defense conflicts with the Legislature’s intent behind the comparative negligence statute. We agree,” the court stated in its ruling.

For more:  http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2011/12/27/228806.htm

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Hawaii Hotel Is Found "Liable" In "Slip-And-Fall Accident" As State Supreme Court Rules "Known Or Obvious Danger" Defense Not Viable

Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , ,

by | December 17, 2011 · 11:35 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Safety: New York Hotel Elevator Malfunctions "Killing Hotel Guest" Hours After "Electrical Maintenance Repairs"

“…Electrical maintenance work was being performed on an elevator just hours before it malfunctioned, killing an advertising executive in Midtown…”

Photo by Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

“…The last fatal elevator accident in the city also involved Transel: Robert Melito, 44, a technician for the company, was servicing an elevator on the 10th floor of a building at 230 West 38th Street on Sept. 23 when he fell to his death…”

Suzanne Hart, 41, was crushed to death on Wednesday morning after the elevator she was stepping into lurched upward, pinning her between the outside of the car and the wall of the elevator shaft.

Mr. Sclafani said the department would be conducting citywide sweeps of elevators maintained by Transel Elevator Inc., the company that serviced the elevators at 285 Madison Avenue, where the accident occurred.

The company maintains elevators at nearly a dozen prominent buildings in the city, according to Transel’s Web site, including the Graybar Building, the BMW Building and the Hippodrome Building. Additional clients listed on the Web site include Carnegie Hall and the Plaza Hotel.

For more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/nyregion/elevator-that-killed-yr-executive-was-undergoing-maintenance-city-says.html?_r=1

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Guest Safety: New York Hotel Elevator Malfunctions "Killing Hotel Guest" Hours After "Electrical Maintenance Repairs"

Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Training

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | November 8, 2011 · 7:39 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Colorado Supreme Court Upholds $10 Million Award To Truck Driver Who "Slipped And Fell On Ice And Grease"

 “…A truck driver who slipped and fell on ice and grease while making a delivery to a Wal-Mart store in northern Colorado can collect a nearly $10 million award after the state Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict in the case on Monday…”

The driver, 41-year-old Holly Averyt of Cheyenne, Wyo., had to undergo three spine surgeries, was unable to return to work and lost her truck. Her lawyers presented city documents during the original trial that showed some grease from the store’s deli didn’t get trapped in a device designed to keep it from getting into the sewer.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., told jurors there had been no grease spill at the store in Greeley.

A jury awarded $15 million to Averyt in November 2010. Wal-Mart appealed and a lower court granted the company a new trial, saying the award was “excessive, not supported by the evidence and could only be the result of prejudice and bias and the jury’s desire to punish Wal-Mart.”

For more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57320005/wal-mart-to-pay-trucker-$10m-for-greasy-ice-fall/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Colorado Supreme Court Upholds $10 Million Award To Truck Driver Who "Slipped And Fell On Ice And Grease"

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

Tagged as , , , ,