Airbnb Slip and Fall

The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) recently released a report that contains several sets of startling data. One of the data sets concerns slip and fall accidents, particularly the number of emergency visits made by victims of slip and fall incidents in the United States. On average, emergency rooms treat more than one million victims of slip and fall accidents each year. Venues that experienced the most slip and fall incidents include hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and grocery stores. Certain venues that do not receive as much attention regarding slip and fall accidents, however, are the homes rented out for tourists and business professionals.

We are talking about Airbnb venues, which have become a rapidly growing industry that has started to compete with hotels for guest reservations.

Airbnbs offer several advantages for the guests that book reservations. By renting a residence for a few days, guests enjoy a level of privacy they can only dream about when staying at a hotel. Airbnbs are ideal for creating an intimate setting for friends and family members to enjoy a relaxing vacation or for business professionals to bond during a big industry conference. When you average the cost of staying at an Airbnb venue, the daily rate often falls below what you pay for during the same duration of stay at a hotel.

The rising popularity of Airbnb properties coincides with a rise in the number of Airbnb slip and fall incidents. If you slipped and fell while staying at an Airbnb venue, you should act with a sense of urgency by contacting an experienced slip and fall attorney. A lawyer can help you gather physical evidence, as well as submit a persuasive insurance claim that helps you recover financial losses. Filing a civil lawsuit seeking monetary damages is typically more difficult to do because of a lack of physical evidence and the fact that most, if not all of the witnesses are friends and/or family members.

Because of the unique challenges posed by an Airbnb slip and fall case, you should contact one of the highly-rated personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan. We have an experienced team of slip and fall lawyers who understand how to clear the many hurdles Airbnb slip and fall cases present for our clients. Since 1988, Morgan and Morgan has recovered more than $20 billion in compensation for our clients, with a large percentage of the financial awards coming from slip and fall cases.

Get the best legal representation for your Airbnb slip and fall case by scheduling a free case evaluation with one of the experienced attorneys at Morgan and Morgan who specializes in handling slip and fall accidents.

What Makes Airbnb Slip and Fall Accidents Unique?

Several factors make Airbnb slip and fall cases different from the slip and fall incidents that occur at public venues such as bars, arenas, restaurants, and convenience stores.

First, collecting physical evidence requires the property owner to have installed a security camera system. When you negotiate a contract with an Airbnb property owner, you should request a clause that requires the property owner to install a security camera system. Not only does a security camera system provide a layer of protection for you and your guest, but a security camera system represents the most convincing source of evidence if you or a guest slipped and fell.

Second, witnesses do not have as much influence during an Airbnb slip and fall case as they do with other types of slip and fall incidents. The primary reason for the ineffectiveness of Airbnb slip and fall witnesses is most, if not all of the witnesses are friends and/or family members. Both insurance companies and the courts that litigate personal injury lawsuits do not give as much credibility to Airbnb slip and fall witnesses as they give to witnesses from other types of slip and fall accidents.

Third, the insurance policy purchased by an Airbnb property owner differs from the insurance policy bought by homeowners. Most standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover liability for short-term guests. If you sustained one or more injuries as a result of an Airbnb slip and fall incident, you cannot receive compensation from a homeowners insurance policy. However, Airbnb offers coverage called Host Protection Insurance (HPI), which provides coverage up to $1 million per case concerning slip and fall accidents.

Because of the uniqueness of Airbnb slip and fall incidents, you should consider hiring an experienced slip and fall lawyer who specializes in handling Airbnb slip and fall cases.

What Are the Most Common Factors That Cause Slip and Fall Accidents at Airbnb Homes?

Despite the many differences in handling an Airbnb slip and fall case, one common denominator concerns the causes of slip and fall incidents. One of the first items on the agenda during a free case evaluation with a Morgan and Morgan attorney is to determine the cause of your injuries.

Wet Floors

As with slip and fall accidents that happen at public venues, wet floors represent the most common cause of a slip and fall incident at an Airbnb property. Bathrooms and kitchens are where the most slip and fall accidents unfold because of the presence of water. From a leaky pipe under the kitchen sink to a shower that sprays water beyond the perimeter of a bathtub, wet floors can be a major safety issue for guests staying at Airbnb properties. Wet floors also develop in basements and garages.

Loose Flooring/Carpeting

Airbnb property owners owe guests and visitors a duty of care to provide a safe living environment. This means ensuring that every tile is properly secured and every room with carpeting does not present any possible hazards for guests to sustain injuries caused by a trip and fall. If you tripped and fell due to loose flooring or carpeting, you should take photos of the safety hazards for your Airbnb slip and fall attorney from Morgan and Morgan to review.

Electrical Cords

An Airbnb property owner might leave behind an electrical cord that poses a safety hazard. Perhaps an extension cord connects a power source with lights that illuminate an outdoor living space. Whatever the reason, an Airbnb property owner must take steps to secure every electrical cord. This means using industrial-strength tape to secure cords indoors and placing cords outdoors out of high-traffic areas.

Clutter

To develop a positive reputation to grow their businesses, Airbnb property owners typically prepare their homes to look the best for guests. However, you might have to deal with unforeseen safety hazards, such as clutter that can cause a trip and fall that results in the development of serious injuries. Clutter can be a huge safety issue in low-traffic areas, such as an attic, basement, or garage. Before signing a contract to book a reservation at an Airbnb property, you should examine the entire venue with the property owner to ensure there are no rooms full of clutter.

Lack of Adequate Illumination

Poor lighting is one of the most common factors contributing to slip and fall accidents. The Airbnb property owner you choose as your vacation spot or home away from home on business should provide lighting that helps you and your guests to prevent slipping and falling. Poorly illuminated areas conceal the presence of clutter and water, as well as other safety hazards that cause slip and fall accidents.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?

Although it is more difficult to receive compensation for an Airbnb slip and fall incident by filing a personal injury lawsuit, your Morgan and Morgan attorney might build a strong enough case that proves the four elements of negligence. If that is the case, you have a limited amount of time to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Each state has established a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit that seeks monetary damages for an Airbnb slip and fall case. Most states have set the statute of limitations between two and four years, although a handful of states allow as long as six years and as short as one year for plaintiffs to take legal action. The clock typically starts ticking on the filing of a personal injury lawsuit on the day when the incident took place. However, your attorney might request an extension if you sustained injuries that produced delayed symptoms.

Although you should have plenty of time to file a personal injury lawsuit for an Airbnb slip and fall case, you should act with a sense of urgency for two important reasons. First, your attorney needs to speak with witnesses as soon as possible after a slip and fall incident. Witness accounts tend to be more reliable the closer they are given to the date of slip and fall accidents. Even though friends and family members are not the ideal witnesses for an Airbnb slip and fall case, your personal injury lawyer might discover a neighbor, delivery professional, and/or another party who saw what transpired when you slipped and fell. Second, you should act with a sense of urgency to take care of your financial obligations. Healthcare providers do not wait for favorable insurance settlements and legal judgments to request payment for services delivered. 

If you fail to file a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, you can expect the court clerk processing your case to dismiss it.

Get the Compensation That You Deserve

You should consider several criteria before choosing to hire a personal injury attorney to handle your Airbnb slip and fall case. The lawyer you hire not only must specialize in working slip and fall cases, but the attorney also should have considerable experience helping clients receive compensation for Airbnb slip and fall accidents. Your attorney must possess outstanding negotiating skills, as negotiations can occur if you and an insurance company reach an impasse regarding your claim. The best lawyer who handles cases involving slip and fall accidents is a responsive communicator. This means you should not have to wait more than 24 hours to hear back from your attorney via email, phone call, and text message.

Morgan and Morgan exceeds every criterion required to hire the best Airbnb slip and fall attorney. Our more than 35 years of experience allow us to remain ahead of the legal curve when it comes to slip and fall cases. Get the compensation that you deserve for an Airbnb slip and fall case by scheduling a free case evaluation today with one of the Morgan and Morgan attorneys who specialize in handling slip and fall accidents.