Hotel Injury Compensation

Question:

The dining room chair in which my wife was sitting collapsed from under her while we were staying at a hotel, causing her extreme embarrassment and mental distress. What are the rules surrounding hotel injury compensation?

Answer:

A hotel is liable for hotel injury compensation when it can be proved that it breached a duty of care to the injured party. The British Standard for chairs used in public places is 150Kg (330 lbs/23 stones and 8 lbs), and if you wife is lighter than that; it can be assumed the chair she was given to sit on was faulty. Irrespective of the weight of your wife, it could also be claimed that the hotel should have provided her with suitable seating arrangements as a guest in their accommodation.

Whether or not your wife suffered a physical injury, she may be awarded hotel injury compensation for the psychological injury caused by the embarrassing incident. Personal injuries are characterised as either a physical or psychological injury which was caused by the negligence on the part of a responsible party. As such, any hotel injury compensation she may receive may include general damages to address the emotional distress caused by the incident, and possibly, special damages if the incident has resulted in costs associated with therapy to address the effects of the trauma.

Hotels also have a duty to ensure that inspections are regularly carried out on its premises, and that potential hazards are eliminated. Furthermore, guests must be warned about possible dangers, and a hotel fails in any of these duties, it is liable for hotel injury compensation.

You may wish to discuss your wife’s situation with a personal injury solicitor to determine the circumstances surrounding her incident, as well as the strength of her case and how much hotel injury compensation she may be entitled to receive.