Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. have successfully represented many rape and sexual assault victims worldwide where the rape occurred at a hotel or resort. Our decades of experience in representing hundreds of victims of rape and sexual assaults on cruise lines make us uniquely suited to handle the complex issues that come with cases of this sensitive and dynamic nature.
If you have been raped or sexually assaulted at a hotel or resort in Miami, Florida, nationally or even internationally, contact us immediately to put our experience and expertise to work for you. Connecting with an experienced hotel rape lawyer can give you peace of mind and confidence as you look towards the future. Knowing that there is a strong attorney-client relationship you can count on to keep your confidential or sensitive information discreet is an important benefit of our law firm.
Contact our law firm as soon as possible to request a free consultation. We can discuss specific matters like hotel security lapses that led to a hotel sexual assault or other sexual violence that you believe the property owners should be held accountable for. We will help you understand the entire process of working with an experienced attorney, go through your legal options, and explain how our contingency fee works. We will also give you a clear understanding of how a civil case works and whether or not your assailant will face criminal charges in tandem with the hotel or resort.
Is Your Hotel As Safe As You Think?
Staying at a hotel should be a comforting, safe, and relaxing experience. Many people expect hotels to provide them and their families with security, safety, and shelter while vacationing, traveling for work, or just treating themselves for a weekend getaway. The last thing you want to think about while staying at a hotel is your safety and the safety of the ones you love. Every hotel or resort has a legal duty to take reasonable security measures to minimize or reduce the risk of hotel sexual assault.
Unfortunately, this standard of reasonable care is not always met. We have handled many cases that involved inadequate security, cameras that were either not functioning or non-existent, improper room key storage and access, and other issues of negligent security that led directly to preventable crimes being committed. In recent years, sexual assault cases have increased in the hospitality industry for both hotel guests and hotel employees. Working with experienced lawyers is an important step to take if you or a loved one has been sexually assaulted, especially where a property owner failed to take reasonable security measures to protect you from harm.
Important Questions A Hotel Rape Lawyer Will Want To Know About Your Hotel or Apartment Building
Cases like these raise many questions about hotel safety for the guests and employees:
- Are hotels taking the right measures and procedures to provide safety for everyone in the facility?
- Are hotels or apartment buildings implementing proper training regarding who enters the hotel?
- Are hotels or apartment buildings conducting proper background checks to ensure their employees are fit to work on the premises?
- Is there security on the premises?
- Was your attack the result of negligent security practices or a lack of safety measures, such as adequate lighting in the hotel parking lot?
- Did the hotel owners fail to protect guests knowing that there was a threat of criminal activity in or near the premises?
- Were people other than hotel guests allowed access through locked entrances or past the main office?
These are the legal questions one needs to ask when they are a victim of sexual assault or rape in a hotel. Attorneys will begin to build your case based, at least in part, on your answers to these questions, and you will be able to discuss the situation in great detail during a free case consultation with our team of experienced, knowledgeable and compassionate attorneys.
Successfully Handled Hotel Rape Cases
Hiring Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. is the clear decision when it comes to working with a law firm that is experienced, aggressive, and confident enough to take your case as far as it needs to go. We are here to fight for your rights and will keep fighting until the case is resolved.
Our team has a diverse background of education and representation with experience allowing them to effectively assist clients who have found themselves in terrible circumstances involving hotels and resorts. We have recovered more than $300 million dollars for our clients, which include many victims of sexual assault.
These are some examples of cases we have successfully handled or are currently handling:
- Two female employees of a Caribbean resort were sexually assaulted by an intruder on the premises which was not properly secured.
- Two female guests at a resort in Jamaica were raped at gunpoint by an employee of the resort.
- A 15-year-old girl was raped at a resort in the Bahamas by an assailant who should not have been allowed on the premises.
The attorneys at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A., have a diverse background of education and representation with experience allowing us to effectively assist clients who have found themselves in terrible circumstances involving hotels and resorts. We have recovered more than $300 million dollars for our clients, which include many victims of sexual assault.
Tips for Preventing Sexual Assault in Hotels
Here are a few basic hotel safety precautions to keep in mind:
- Don’t publicize and keep your room number to yourself at all times. No one should know your room number but yourself and those staying in the room. If possible, have the front desk employee write down your room number rather than announcing it aloud.
- Inspect the room when you first enter. Scope out the room including the bathroom, closet, and behind the curtains.
- Always lock doors and windows. You should always make sure your door lock is functioning properly and lock it from the inside. Use the deadbolt if one is provided. Lock your windows at night if your room is near a street or if you have a balcony view.
- Keep unwanted visitors away. Never open the door unless you know the person behind it and their purpose in visiting your room, including a hotel employee.
- Look for the nearest exit. In case of an emergency, you’ll know where to go and make sure to memorize it as best as possible.
- Use the main entrance. When entering and exiting the hotel, try to use the main entrance as much as possible, as this is typically the busiest area of a hotel. Avoid solitary situations. If it makes you feel more comfortable, call the front desk and ask for an employee to accompany you to and from your car.
What To Do If You Are A Victim Of Rape Or Sexual Assault At A Hotel
- Report the Incident to Local Authorities
Becoming a victim of rape or sexual assault taken place at a hotel or resort is a horrific and traumatic experience. Speaking about the incident can be difficult and uncomfortable, but it is important you report the incident as soon as possible. If you are a victim, you should notify the hotel or hotel security, but you must also notify local authorities. This is because there are times when the hotel security is more interested in protecting the company than it is in protecting your rights. Accordingly, it is crucial for your legal case that you have notified the necessary parties including local law enforcement, as soon as possible. - Document Evidence
This may be challenging right after experiencing something life changing, but this is a key element for your case. Photograph the scene of crime and take notes about the incidents that occurred before and after the assault.
If possible, seek medical attention soon after. The medical examiner will document any signs of physical harm. - Contact an experienced lawyer
When facing a legal burden related to rape and sexual assault, it is important to have a skilled sexual assault lawyer on your side. Many individuals do not realize that the perpetrator of their crime can be held responsible for their actions. That is why we are here, to help provide closure for victims and hopefully prevent more of the same incidents from happening in the future.
Hotel Rape FAQs
After you’ve been violently attacked and raped in a hotel, you may be left with a million questions running through your mind all at once. We have seen firsthand how traumatizing it can be for victims of sexual assault to attempt to recount the attack and provide the details needed to prove liability and negligence. In our years working with survivors like you, we have come to recognize some of the most common questions you might have regarding hotel rapes and your opportunities for justice.
With this in mind, we have answered some of the most frequently asked questions below surrounding rapes in hotels. If you have additional questions we did not answer here, please do not hesitate to contact our office to discuss your concerns in further detail.
Are there questions I should ask the hotel to ensure my safety?
Before checking into a hotel in the future, you may be wondering if there are certain questions you can ask to proactively take steps to protect yourself as much as possible. Some of the top questions you might want to discuss with hotel staff or management include:
- Do the rooms have any special security features? If so, what are they?
- How does the hotel protect against people who may attempt to see into your room via peepholes?
- What makes the hotel safer than, say, an Airbnb?
- Do the windows in your room open and close?
- Does your room have a deadbolt?
- How does keyless entry work?
- Are employers trained in what to look for from someone who should not be in the hotel hallways or lobby?
- Does the hotel conduct background checks on their employees prior to hiring?
- Does your hotel room have a panic button?
What is a hotel “panic button”?
A hotel panic button is a button that hotel employees can utilize when they find themselves in an uncomfortable, risky, or unsafe situation at work. When they push the panic button, hotel security staff will be alerted, who can then contact law enforcement officials should they deem it necessary.
Some cities and states have ordinances in place that require hotels to provide employees with panic buttons if they work in more private areas of the hotel. The hope is that implementing these panic buttons will decrease the number of sexual assaults and misconduct by hotel staff and other hotel guests.
How do hotels prevent sexual assault?
Hotels have an obligation to take steps to prevent sexual assault on their premises. Failure to do so leaves hotel staff and the hotel itself open to potential liability when guests or employees are assaulted or raped on the property. For this reason, many hotels have taken the necessary precautions to prevent instances of sexual assault. Some of the more common preventative measures include:
- Taking steps to install panic buttons throughout potentially dangerous areas throughout the hotel or providing hotel employees and hotel rooms with panic buttons to push if they feel unsafe at any time
- Requiring hotel management to be encouraging of employees who are assaulted or raped at work and want to report their assault to hotel Human Resources or police
- Requiring hotel employees to participate in on-the-job training to educate and inform about workplace sexual violence
- Implementing rules and regulations that prohibit hotel staff from being alone with hotel guests at any time, for any reason
- Ensure employees are trained in how to handle dangerous or unsafe situations, how to report the incidents, and which officials should be notified, including law enforcement and hotel administrators
- Requiring that hotel staff participate in on-the-job training that helps them recognize signs of sexual assault, misconduct, violence, and rape in hotels
Some common signs that a hotel may not be taking these necessary precautions against rape and sexual assault include:
- Indication of prostitution at the hotel
- Lack of sufficient lighting inside hotel hallways, the hotel lobby, and outside of the hotel, including outdoor common areas
- Large groups of guests congregating in parking lots or hotel lobbies
- Hotel staff failure to validate the identity of guests checking in to the hotel
- The hotel’s failure to hire security or implement security measures, including surveillance cameras both inside the hotel and surrounding it
How common are sexual assaults in hotels?
Sexual assault can come in many forms. In addition to rape, hotel employees and guests may fall victim to unwanted sexual touching, forcible sodomy, attempted rape, date rape, and threats of sexual assault or violence. In some of the worst situations, children have been sexually assaulted by hotel staff or guests.
According to the Harvard Business Review, as much as 70% of men and 90% of women working in the hospitality industry have been victims of sexual harassment or assault in the workplace. The National Crime Victimization Survey indicates that approximately 0.3% of violent crimes occur at hotels, with nearly 8,000 sexual assaults occurring annually.
Remember, this only includes the number of reported assaults. There are countless incidents of hotel rape and assault that go unreported.
A Legal Team You Can Trust
We stand by our mission of integrity first, compassion, and excellence in all we do. This means that we are prepared to fight for our clients until their case is resolved. Hotel sexual assaults, whether due to security issues or any negligent conduct of hotel owners and security teams, must be handled by a competent and aggressive attorney to help victims recover a range of damages. This includes lost wages, medical bills, and emotional distress.
Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. has seven offices located nationwide, employing award-winning lawyers who have extensive experience in handling cases like yours. Our law firm has been named to “Best Law Firms”® by US News & World Report every year since 2016. Our firm’s founder, Charles R. Lipcon, was named “Lawyer of the Year” for 2020 in Admiralty and Maritime (Miami) by US News & World Report. In addition to this, he and three of our partners – Jason R. Margulies, Michael A. Winkleman, and Jacqueline Garcell – were named as the Best Lawyers® in America for 2023.
Let us put our significant experience to work for you. If you have been the victim of a sexual assault or rape at a hotel, contact us at 877-233-1238 for a free no-obligation consultation. During this initial meeting, we will be able to discuss the specifics of your situation and give you a better understanding of how we can help you move forward with dignity and support. You deserve justice, and we would be honored to help you get it.
