By:   Jason R. Margulies

Our Wyndham Hotel Accident Lawyers Will Help you Demand Total Financial Recovery

Photo of Wyndham HotelThe lawyers at Lipcon, Margulies, & Winkleman, P.A., headquartered in Miami, FL, are the nation’s leading hotel injury and accident lawyers. We have been fighting for the rights of injured guests for over 50 years, since 1971. We are dedicated to helping our clients recover the compensation they deserve after accidents at a Wyndham Hotel caused by someone else’s negligence. With 15 attorneys in 7 offices nationwide, countless awards and accolades, and over $300 million and counting recently recovered for our clients, it is no surprise that Lipcon, Margulies, & Winkleman, P.A. has been named to “Best Law Firms”® by US News and World Report since 2016, and 4 of our attorneys named to “Best Lawyers”®.

In many cases, Wyndham hotels have allowed a dangerous condition to persist, or they have failed to properly maintain a property, leading to dangerous conditions. If you find yourself the victim of a hotel or resort accident, you should contact a qualified and experienced attorney for advice. We take pride in fighting for the rights of the injured around the world, including countless hotel and resort incidents. We have an unparalleled success rate and we are confident in our ability to help you or your family to obtain a successful outcome.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is a hotel company based in New Jersey with over 9,000 locations and 20 hotel brands, including Days Inn, Howard Johnson, La Quinta, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge, and Wyndham. These well-known brands have been associated with multiple accidental injuries.

Wyndham Hotels Include:

  • Wyndham Grand Hotels and Resorts
  • Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
  • Wyndham Garden Hotels
  • TRYP
  • Windgate by Wyndham
  • Hawthorn Suites
  • Microtel Inn and Suites
  • Ramada
  • Baymont Inn & Suites
  • Days Inn
  • Super 8
  • Howard Johnson
  • Travelodge
  • Dolce Hotel & Resorts

Hot Tub Accident at LaQuinta Inn in Desoto, Texas

In December 2020, a 3-year-old nearly drowned in a hot tub at the LaQuinta Inn in DeSoto, Texas. The child was found unresponsive and not breathing and was only revived when the front desk supervisor performed CPR on him. Without this quick intervention, paramedics said the boy might have died. Hotels are responsible for taking reasonable measures to ensure the safety of guests, and the fact that a front desk supervisor rather than a lifeguard started life-saving measures suggests that no lifeguard was present at the hotel pool, which may indicate the hotel’s liability.  We have successfully handled numerous drowning or near drowning cases and we fought for years to effectively force the major cruise lines to place lifeguards at their pools on cruise ships.

Pool Drowning Accident at Days Inn in Bend, Oregon

In September 2020, a 60-year-old woman drowned in a Days Inn swimming pool in Bend, Oregon while swimming alone. An employee found the woman unresponsive in the hotel pool, but CPR was unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Again, if no lifeguard was present, the hotel may be responsible for failing to take adequate measures to ensure the safety of swimming guests.

Cruise Boat Sinking at Ramada Plaza Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand

In August of 2020, a three-deck river cruise boat in Bangkok, Thailand picked up a group of tourists at the Ramada Plaza hotel along the Chao Phraya River. Soon after, the boat began listing. The captain, fortunately, chose to dock at a nearby pier and let the passengers off the vessel. The 60 passengers and 15 crew members were safely evacuated before the boat eventually sank. If the hotel failed to warn guests of unsafe riverboats soliciting passengers in the area, it may be responsible for putting unsuspecting guests in danger.  This type of case falls squarely within our expertise as it involves the interplay of hotel and resort law with Maritime law.

Window Fall Accident at Ramada Inn in Edmonton, Canada

In May 2020, a one-year-old boy fell from a fourth-floor window at the Ramada Inn in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The boy was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The Ramada has a duty to take reasonable measures to protect patrons from accidental falls. Failure to install window safety devices may rise to the level of negligence.  We have handled and are currently handling some of the most high profile window falls cases.  As such, we are acutely aware of the steps that must be taken by a hotel or resort owner.

Photo of Days Inn Hotel

What to Do if You Are the Victim of a Wyndham Hotel Accident

If you are injured in an accident at a Wyndham hotel, the first and most important step that you should take is to seek immediate medical attention. Even if you think your injury is minor, it’s best to be evaluated by a medical professional to document your injury. You should also attempt to gather any evidence regarding your injury. This may include taking pictures of your injuries; taking pictures or video of the area in which the injury occurred, including any hazards that may have been present which led to your accident; and asking for surveillance video or witness information. This should be done as soon as possible to preserve evidence. Finally, victims should contact a qualified and experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible for legal counsel.

Liability in Hotel Accident Claims

Proving liability is crucial in any hotel accident or personal injury claim. If you were injured at a Wyndham hotel, your hotel accident lawyer will conduct a thorough investigation to gather the evidence needed to prove negligence and identify all parties who contributed to the injuries you sustained. Claims leading to a successful settlement or verdict often includes the negligent or intentional acts or omissions made by:

  • Hotel employees
  • Hotel owners
  • Equipment or parts manufacturers
  • The hotel itself
  • The hotel’s insurance company
  • Hotel guest negligence

Hotel Employees

Hotel employees can be held accountable when their actions are the cause of other employee’s or guest’s injuries or damages. This most often occurs when hotel employees steal from or assault a guest. Hotel employees may also be held accountable if they give out the guest’s personal information to other guests or individuals entering the hotel without the guest’s consent.

The Hotel Property Owner

Hotel accidents are a type of premise liability claim. This means the property or hotel owner could be held accountable when the accident or injuries occurred anywhere on the hotel property, such as a slip and fall, due to a lack of maintenance or an improper flooring surface. This includes accidents within the hotel, the hotel parking lot, and could include accidents occurring adjacent to the hotel.

Equipment or Parts Manufacturers

Depending on how your injury occurred, equipment and parts manufacturers could also be held accountable. For example, if you were injured in an elevator accident, the manufacturer, designer, installer, distributor, or maintenance company of the elevator could be held responsible for your damages.  This also applies to injuries or deaths occurring in the hotel pool due to pool drain entrapment issues.

The Hotel Itself

More often than not, filing a claim against the hotel itself is one of the top ways injury victims can recover the compensation they are entitled to. Since guests are considered invitees under state premises liability laws, the Wyndham hotels have a legal obligation to provide their guests with a certain amount of protection.

Hotels must maintain the safety of the property at all times, including making repairs to hazardous conditions and or around the hotel and taking steps to protect ghosts from other dangers that might be present. For instance, hotels must quickly clean up wet floors and post signs warning the guests of the hazardous conditions near wet floors to offer them the highest degree of protection.

Other responsibilities and obligations hotels have to their guests include:

  • Adequately training hotel pool staff
  • Controlling infestations of bed bugs and other insects
  • Preventing employees from stealing from hotel guests
  • Adequately performing due diligence in hiring hotel staff
  • Maintaining adequate security, including cameras and security staff, to protect guests from assault
  • Keeping stairs and walking areas unobstructed and dry
  • Repairing hotel equipment, property, and furniture as needed
  • Servicing hotel room locks, elevators, and stairs
  • Maintain sufficient warning and design signs, including caution, warning, and exit signs
  • Complying with applicable safety codes, statutes, and standards

How a Hotel May Be Held Liable for the Acts of its Employees Through Personal Injury Claims

Hotels can be held accountable for the actions of their employees under what is known as the vicarious liability doctrine of personal injury laws. Here, if the employee’s actions were within the scope of their job responsibilities, hotels can be sued for their actions.

This is true even if the hotel did not directly employ the hotel worker, was not directly aware of the accident or incident in question, or did not grant the employee permission to engage in the tasks at hand. Depending upon the law that applies to the offending hotel, the hotelmay also be held accountable for vicarious liability when employees commit intentional acts, such as assault or sexual assault.

What Must an Injured Guest Prove to Win a Personal Injury Claim Against a Hotel for Negligence?

Injured guests must prove the hotel breached its duty of care to win a claim for negligence. The elements of negligence must be proven based on a preponderance of evidence for the hotel accident claim to be successful.

First, your personal injury attorney must show that the hotel owed you a duty of care. If you booked a room at the hotel or were working for the hotel at the time of the accident, the hotel would have a legal obligation to keep you out of harm’s way or as safe as possible.

Next, we need to show that the hotel breached its duty of care. This could be by failing to make necessary repairs or do their due diligence before hiring employees, for example. The hotel’s breach of the duty of care must be the direct or indirect cause of the victim’s injuries or damages.

Although you do not necessarily need to have suffered life-threatening or catastrophic injuries for a personal injury claim to apply, your injuries must have had a substantial impact on your life to win your hotel accident claim.

Since the burden of proof is not beyond a reasonable doubt, your legal advocate will gather valuable evidence that convinces the insurance company, judge, or jury that the hotel or other liable party is more likely than not responsible for causing your damages. Some examples of such evidence could include:

  • Safety inspection records
  • Hotel employee records
  • Hotel training manuals
  • Hotel maintenance records
  • Statements from hotel employees
  • Statements from witnesses
  • Testimony from experts
  • Photos of the victim’s injuries
  • Medical records
  • Reports from accident reconstructionists or police

Common Types of Recoverable Damages After a Wyndham Hotel Accident

After suffering devastating injuries in a Wyndham hotel accident due to negligence or intentional wrongful acts, you have the right to be made whole. This means you should be reimbursed for every single way you have been affected by not only your injuries but the incident that caused them. To ensure losses are calculated accurately, you can expect your attorney to categorize them as economic or non-economic losses.

Economic damages are financial, while non-economic damages include the ways you have been affected emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Collectively, these are commonly referred to as compensatory damages. Some of the most common types of recoverable damages after a Wyndham hotel accident include:

  • Emotional trauma and stress
  • Pain and suffering
  • Wage-related losses, including loss of employee benefits
  • Inconvenience and embarrassment
  • Current and future healthcare costs
  • Lots of household services
  • Loss of consortium
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Personal property damages

What About Punitive Damages?

Punitive damages may also be paid out in hotel accident claims. However, these are not the same as compensatory damages, which you are entitled to. Punitive damages only apply when the court system finds it appropriate.

They will often award punitive damages in cases of intentional misconduct, willfulness, or gross negligence. Anytime they find it necessary to punish the liable party for their actions and send a message to the public that similar contact will not be tolerated, punitive damages may be awarded.

Contact Lipcon, Margulies, & Winkleman, P.A.

Lipcon, Margulies, & Winkleman, P.A. is a 2020 recipient of the “Lawyer of the Year”® honor by US News & World Report. We also have three lawyers who were named to “Best Lawyers”® of 2021. Our attorneys have over 200 years of combined experience in personal injury cases, and we’ve successfully handled over 3,000 cases.

Our team of experienced lawyers is standing by to assist victims of Wyndham Hotel accidents, and we’re passionate about fighting for victims of injustice. If you’ve been injured at a Wyndham Hotel due to negligence or improper maintenance, we may be able to help. Call a dedicated hotel accident lawyer at our firm today for a free consultation at 877-233-1238.