Category Archives: Insurance

by | January 7, 2012 · 8:11 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel Owner Settles "Wrongful Death" Lawsuit For Over $250,000 Of Man Who Was Trapped By "Suction Of The Pool Drain"

“…Mr. Williams’ widow… sued the club and its owner, Daniel Griffin, along with Elmhurst Corp., the hotel owner, claiming her husband became trapped in the suction of the pool drain…”

The settlement is confidential and lawyers would not discuss it, although court filings indicate that Mr. Williams’ daughter in Buffalo, N.Y., received $264,000, which represents part of the settlement.

A wrongful death suit against a Downtown hotel and a defunct athletic club involving the drowning of a Penn Hills man in 2009 has been settled for an undisclosed amount. Lorenzo Williams, 38, drowned on April 11, 2009, in the pool at the former Downtown Athletic Club adjacent to the Doubletree City Center.

Ms. Williams said Mr. Griffin, who rented the space for the club from the hotel, was negligent in not making sure the pool was safe by installing a drain cover as required by federal law.

The club closed in May 2009 after its lease expired.

The crux of the case was the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, a federal law passed in 2007 requiring all pools and spas to have special drain covers to keep children from getting trapped.

The law was created after Virginia Baker, the 8-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker III, drowned in 2002 after being trapped by a hot tub drain.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12007/1202018-53.stm#ixzz1imyIW57P

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by | January 6, 2012 · 12:09 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Risks: Small Boy Drowns In A Michigan Hotel Hot Tub; Father Had Left Child In Care Of 14-Year Old

“… a 3-year-old boy, who was with his father and several other children in the pool and hot tub area,  drowned…he was sitting on the ledge of the hot tub, when the father went back up to the room to retrieve something…”

“… a 14-year-old friend of the family was put in charge of watching the children…”

Soon after the father went back to the room, the children decided to get into the pool and lost track of the 3-year-old, according to Southfield Police Lt. Nick Loussia.

“Nobody saw the 3-year-old fall in,” Loussia said. “When the father came back, he saw the kids in the pool, looked in the hot tub and saw the 3-year-old in the hot tub.”

The father pulled the boy out and began performing CPR while hotel staff called 911. Paramedics and police responded to the scene and transported the boy to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where he was pronounced dead.

For more:  http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/01/05/news/local_news/doc4f05e52249ad0488717383.txt

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by | January 1, 2012 · 8:25 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Wisconsin Hotel Guests Hospitalized From "Carbon Monoxide Leak" As Swimming Pool Heating System Malfunctions

“…carbon monoxide levels of 800 parts per million were detected in the swimming pool area and 957 parts per million in a mechanical room where a heating system apparently malfunctioned, causing the leak…”

“…Levels of 9 parts per million usually will prompt officials to evacuate a building…”

As many as 16 people at a hotel near Lambeau Field were hospitalized Friday night after becoming ill from an apparent carbon monoxide leak, officials said. Battalion Chief Ed Jarosz of the Green Bay Fire Department said at least two of the victims were children who became ill in the swimming pool area at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1015 Lombardi Ave.

Two children were transported by ambulance, and 14 others were taken to a hospital by private vehicles, Jarosz said.

Children had been playing in the swimming pool area about 45 minutes before they began feeling sick, he said.

For more:  http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120101/GPG0101/201010565/Carbon-monoxide-leak-at-Hilton-Garden-Inn-in-Green-Bay-sends-16-to-hospital

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by | December 31, 2011 · 2:59 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: "Hotel Cold Weather Checklist" Presented By Risk Manager Joe Fisco Of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMr9bfhZ3Z4]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager, Joe Fisco, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Hotel Cold Weather Checklist’. 

P3 ( Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.

 For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.

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by | December 30, 2011 · 5:59 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel "Service Elevator" Malfunctions Resulting In Housekeeper's Fatal Six Story Fall

In Texas, licensed inspectors must check elevators annually. The service elevator at the Crockett Hotel was installed in 1981 and its last annual inspection was in December 2010, according to the most recent records on file with the licensing department. Elevator inspector William McPherson did not note any concerns in his report.

In a 2008 inspection report, McPherson wrote that the service elevator needed a door restrictor — a device that prevents elevator doors opening when an elevator is stuck between floors. It prevents occupants from falling out of the elevator down the shaft, and from being injured if the elevator moves while they try to climb out.

The state’s chief elevator inspector will investigate a fatal incident at the Crockett Hotel, where a housekeeper fell six stories down the shaft of a service elevator Wednesday evening.

Brendel said the elevator was regularly maintained and inspected. He told police that the hotel “had been having problems with the elevators,” but they had been serviced and were working properly, according to a San Antonio police report.

The death stunned Rodriguez’s family, who described her as a warm, kind-hearted woman. She left behind four children, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Family members say they have not received any explanation from hotel management about the cause of the death. Gloria Rodriguez’s daughter, Sara Ochoa, said the elevator had frozen with an employee inside it a few days ago, and it had gotten stuck in the past.

Lawrence Taylor, chief inspector for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversees elevator safety, was traveling to San Antonio on Thursday to investigate, department spokeswoman Susan Stanford said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that enforces safety standards for workers, also is investigating the incident.

Brendel said he couldn’t remember if the restrictor had been installed. But in a 2009 letter sent to state officials, he wrote that the hotel was planning to install one. More recent inspection reports did not find any problems regarding the door restrictor.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Cause-unclear-in-death-at-hotel-2431280.php#ixzz1i1f7zxA3

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by | December 28, 2011 · 6:26 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Hawaii Hotel Is Found "Liable" In "Slip-And-Fall Accident" As State Supreme Court Rules "Known Or Obvious Danger" Defense Not Viable

“…Michele R. Steigman sought to recover damages after suffering a slip-and-fall accident while she was a guest of Outrigger Enterprises’ Ohana Surf Hotel….The case went to trial, and a jury found that Outrigger was not negligent…”

“… in Hawaii, the known or obvious danger defense is no longer viable as a complete bar to an injured plaintiff’s claim in the context of premises liability.”

The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled the “known or obvious danger” defense is no longer viable under state law as a complete bar to an injured plaintiff’s premises liability claim. Steigman’s appeal to the Intermediate Court of Appeals resulted in an affirmation of the trial court’s final judgment.

Steigman’s attorneys argued that the ruling goes against a comparative negligence law passed by Hawaii’s legislature in 1969 and modified several times.

The statue states: “Contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in any action by any person or the person’s legal representative to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or in injury to person or property, if such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person or in the case of more than one person, the aggregate negligence of such persons against whom recovery is sought, but any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person for whose injury, damage or death recovery is made.”

Therefore the court ruled the traditional “known and obvious danger defense” conflicts with that statute.

“Steigman contends that the traditional known or obvious danger defense conflicts with the Legislature’s intent behind the comparative negligence statute. We agree,” the court stated in its ruling.

For more:  http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2011/12/27/228806.htm

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by | December 27, 2011 · 6:56 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New York Hotel Found Guilty Of Fostering A "Hostile Environment" For A Black Employee In Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

“…He was the only black employee in that department, the suit said, and several other mechanics and supervisors frequently used a racial epithet when he was around, apparently in an effort to cause him discomfort…The suit contended the hotel’s management at favored white and Hispanic workers over African-Americans…”

On Friday a jury, after issuing a verdict in Mr. MacMillan’s favor, awarded him $125,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

Freddrick MacMillan, who has worked at the hotel in various capacities since 1990, sued in Federal District Court in Manhattan in 2009, saying he had been subjected to a hostile environment.

 Mr. MacMillan, who is African-American, said several co-workers habitually referred to him as “boy” and used a racial epithet, and one of them used a noose to hang a doll with a black face from a bulletin board in a supervisor’s office.

For more:  http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/millennium-hotel-loses-racial-harassment-suit/

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by | December 26, 2011 · 8:33 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: "Introduction To California's Workers' Compensation System" (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2udxkhH24Cc]

Learning the rights of an injured worker under California’s workers’ compensation system. This video follows several workers’ compensation case scenarios and provides basic information and resources for obtaining further assistance and/or information.

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by | December 25, 2011 · 9:22 am

Hospitality Industry Alcohol Risks: Hotels And Restaurants Hosting "Office Parties And Charity Events" Need To Insure Against "Liquor Liability"

“…office parties and charity events…can provide opportunities for professionals to mingle casually with their co-workers and clients and can help boost employee morale…(but) they can also prove to be a liability for businesses that serve alcohol…”

“…when business owners host a holiday party and serve alcohol as part of the festivities, liquor liability would most likely be covered by their commercial general liability (CGL) policy…”

 “…In addition to a CGL policy, businesses should also consider purchasing an Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policy. An EPLI policy will protect a business from discrimination, sexual harassment, emotional distress, and other workplace-related issues…”

  • Forty-four states plus the District of Columbia have enacted liquor liability laws
  • These laws make it possible for a plaintiff to hold those who serve alcohol to an intoxicated or underage person responsible for any damage or injury caused by these same individuals after they leave the party
  • Most of these laws also offer an injured person, such as the victim of a drunk driver, a method to sue the person who served the alcohol
  • There are circumstances under these same state laws where criminal charges may also apply
  • Liquor liability laws were intended originally to apply to taverns, bars, and other establishments selling and serving alcohol

However, the liability laws have expanded over time to include “social hosts” (such as those holding a holiday party in their home or business) in some states giving them some exposure to the risk of liability for serving alcohol.

“If you are throwing an office party where alcohol is served, you have a responsibility to make sure that your employees are capable of driving safely.”

For more:  http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=319206

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by | December 23, 2011 · 6:38 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Hotels Must Have Comprehensive Corporate Policies To "Manage" Independent Contractors To Avoid "Steep Penalties" For "Willfully Misclassifying Employees"

On October 9, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill 459 (“SB 459”), which adds sections 226.8 and 2753 to the California Labor Code. SB 459, effective January 1, 2012, imposes steep penalties on employers who willfully misclassify employees.

In light of federal initiatives and California’s enactment of SB 459, hospitality employers should consider taking various steps to evaluate their existing independent contractor relationships:

  • Develop and publish a corporate policy on the engagement of independent contractors and the management of those relationships. As part of this policy, require that approval be obtained from a knowledgeable employee before any independent contractor relationship is established.
  • Train employees who manage independent contractor agreements as to how to work with independent contractor relationships.
  • Ensure that the company has a well-written independent contractor agreement for each contractor, that it is accurate, complete, and individually negotiated.
  • Audit the company’s independent contractor relationships, including a review of any past decisions or determinations concerning independent contractor status.
  • Obtain a written legal opinion from counsel regarding the appropriateness of the classification of workers as independent contractors, based on counsel’s understanding of the specific factual situations at issue.

For more:  http://www.seyfarth.com/publications/Five-Key-Labor-And-Employment-Issues-Hospitality-Employers-Need-To-Be-Aware-Of

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