Motel Accidents

Cape Cod is a resort destination, which means many people who come to the area stay in motels during their visit. Although most people reasonably anticipate that motels will offer safe quarters, not all establishments exercise the care required to maintain a secure environment, and many people are unfortunately injured in motel accidents each year. Parties that recklessly cause a person harm should be held accountable for their behavior, and people hurt in motel accidents should seek legal counsel regarding their options. If you suffered harm while staying at a motel, the Cape Cod premises liability lawyers of The Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III can advise you of your rights and help you to seek any compensation you may be able to recover for your losses. Collectively, our lawyers have more than fifteen decades of practice representing injured parties in civil lawsuits, and we have recovered multiple multi-million dollar verdicts and settlement awards for our clients.

While many scenarios can lead to a motel accident, some situations are more likely to cause harm than others. For example, many injuries at motels arise out of slip and fall accidents that are caused by a floor that is wet, either due to a spill, water from a nearby pool, or the failure to employ a wet floor sign after mopping. Harm also may befall a person if the motel was not built or maintained in compliance with relevant codes or standards, which can create dangerous conditions such as unsafe stairs and ramps. A lack of maintenance or supervision frequently leads to harmful events, as well. In other words, if a garage or common area is not properly secured, it may lead to an assault, and if common areas are not well lit, it can cause trip and fall accidents.

Typically, a people injured in motel accidents will seek compensation via a premises liability lawsuit. In Massachusetts, whether a plaintiff in a premises liability lawsuit will be awarded damages depends on numerous factors. First, the plaintiff’s legal status on the property at the time of the accident will impact the duty owed by the defendant. In other words, a property owner only has a duty to refrain from engaging in reckless, willful, or wanton conduct that will harm a trespasser, and must exercise ordinary care to prevent harm of a trespasser that faces a known danger, but otherwise does not owe a trespasser a duty of care. With regard to people that lawfully enter premises, a property owner has a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances, which includes obligations to reduce risks of foreseeable harm and to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. Thus, if a property owner fails to uphold their responsibilities, they may be deemed liable for negligence.

A plaintiff seeking to hold a defendant accountable for negligence in a premises liability lawsuit must show that the defendant had a duty to maintain the property or otherwise act with reasonable care, the defendant breached the duty which led to the creation of a dangerous condition, and the plaintiff suffered actual damages due to an accident caused by the dangerous condition. Usually, liability will not be imposed unless the plaintiff can show that the defendant had actual or constructive notice of the condition and ample time to remedy it prior to the accident.

Although people who stay in motels while traveling for business or pleasure do not expect to suffer injuries, motel accidents are common, and in many cases, can cause substantial physical, emotional, and financial harm. If you were hurt in an incident while you were visiting a motel, you have the right to seek compensation, and the trusted lawyers of The Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III, can assist you in setting forth effective arguments to help you demonstrate the motel should be deemed liable for your harm. Our zealous advocacy has allowed us to uphold a history of favorable results, including damages awards in excess of one million dollars. We represent parties in premises liability lawsuits on Cape Cod, and we are available for meetings in Plymouth and Hyannis. We can be reached at 888-262-6664 or through the online form to schedule a conference. Nós Falamos Português.