Tag Archives: Injuries

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Man For "Negligence" After Breaking Ankle In Hotel Lobby

“…(Plaintiff) fell on a slippery marble floor near the lobby area of the hotel…(he) is seeking damages and court costs…”

A native of the Netherlands is suing after he broke his ankle at a Memorial-area hotel.  Harry Kanters filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, April 17 in the Harris County District Court against American Liberty Hospitality and Hilton Garden Inn/Houston Galleria in Memorial, citing negligence.

Kanters says on April 18, 2010, he broke his ankle while staying as a guest at the Hilton Garden Inn Galleria, located at 3201 Sage Road in Memorial.

He is being represented in the case by Southlake attorney Gregory Jones.

For more: http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/354485-courts-memorial-hotel-blamed-for-broken-ankle

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Man For "Negligence" After Breaking Ankle In Hotel Lobby

“…(Plaintiff) fell on a slippery marble floor near the lobby area of the hotel…(he) is seeking damages and court costs…”

A native of the Netherlands is suing after he broke his ankle at a Memorial-area hotel.  Harry Kanters filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, April 17 in the Harris County District Court against American Liberty Hospitality and Hilton Garden Inn/Houston Galleria in Memorial, citing negligence.

Kanters says on April 18, 2010, he broke his ankle while staying as a guest at the Hilton Garden Inn Galleria, located at 3201 Sage Road in Memorial.

He is being represented in the case by Southlake attorney Gregory Jones.

For more: http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/354485-courts-memorial-hotel-blamed-for-broken-ankle

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Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Risks: Houston Hotel Sued By Parents Of Young Girl Injured By Restaurant's "Rotating Floors"

“…(they) are suing for damages that include emergency room expenses, future surgeries to “restore the normal appearance of Erin’s foot” and prescription drugs as well as “likely permanent disfigurement” of the child’s foot. She was involved in dance classes prior to the incident…”

They allege in the lawsuit that Hyatt and Spindletop failed to use reasonable care to make the restaurant safe, primarily by failing to “remedy and warn of a serious safety hazard that was especially dangerous to small children.”

Set at the very top of the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel downtown, Spindletop is a popular destination for date nights and special occasions. The rotating floors in the restaurant spin guests slowly around for impeccable views of the city skyline, making Spindletop a draw since it first opened in 1972. But those rotating floors ended up creating a nightmarish scenario for one couple, who allege in a lawsuit that their 4-year-old’s foot became lodged between two rotating platforms, causing serious injuries.

The couple, Dehong Shen and Min Zhang, filed a lawsuit against Spindletop and its parent company, the Hyatt corporation, on April 17. In the filing, Shen and Zhang accuse the restaurant of gross negligence for failing to prevent the injury to their child and for failing to provide sufficient assistance to the family when the toddler’s leg became stuck.

For more:  http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2012/04/spindletop_lawsuit_rotating_floor_child_injured.php

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Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Risks: Houston Hotel Sued By Parents Of Young Girl Injured By Restaurant's "Rotating Floors"

“…(they) are suing for damages that include emergency room expenses, future surgeries to “restore the normal appearance of Erin’s foot” and prescription drugs as well as “likely permanent disfigurement” of the child’s foot. She was involved in dance classes prior to the incident…”

They allege in the lawsuit that Hyatt and Spindletop failed to use reasonable care to make the restaurant safe, primarily by failing to “remedy and warn of a serious safety hazard that was especially dangerous to small children.”

Set at the very top of the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel downtown, Spindletop is a popular destination for date nights and special occasions. The rotating floors in the restaurant spin guests slowly around for impeccable views of the city skyline, making Spindletop a draw since it first opened in 1972. But those rotating floors ended up creating a nightmarish scenario for one couple, who allege in a lawsuit that their 4-year-old’s foot became lodged between two rotating platforms, causing serious injuries.

The couple, Dehong Shen and Min Zhang, filed a lawsuit against Spindletop and its parent company, the Hyatt corporation, on April 17. In the filing, Shen and Zhang accuse the restaurant of gross negligence for failing to prevent the injury to their child and for failing to provide sufficient assistance to the family when the toddler’s leg became stuck.

For more:  http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2012/04/spindletop_lawsuit_rotating_floor_child_injured.php

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Colorado Hotel Sued By Woman "Bitten By A Vicious Dog" Owned By Hotel Guest; Written "Pet Care Policies" Not Followed According To Lawsuit

“…The lawsuit claims that employees at The Little Nell hotel, which provided dog-sitting services for Babu, knew the dog had violent tendencies…”

“The Little Nell’s Guide to Petiquette,” a set of written policies governing pet care and behavior at the hotel, required that a problem dog such as Babu either be removed from the premises or have a sitter overseeing it at all times, the lawsuit said, according to the Times. The lawsuit accuses the hotel of failing to follow its policy…”

The Aspen Skiing Co. and a New York socialite couple are defendants in a lawsuit that accuses them of keeping a vicious dog that bit a woman at the Gondola Plaza. Beth Fischer, of Aspen, filed a complaint Monday in Pitkin County District Court saying she has racked up more than $200,000 in medical bills after a black Labrador retriever bit her on Sept. 18, according to the Aspen Times.

She has had multiple surgeries to her hand and resulting staph infections because of the attack, the lawsuit said. Fischer’s lawsuit said that she was walking in the Gondola Plaza, near the outdoor tables at Starbucks, when a black Labrador named Babu Sarofim “leapt up from its position and lunged directly” at her, biting her left hand.

“Fischer was able to free her left hand from Babu’s mouth and she immediately realized she was injured and bleeding from the dog bite,” the lawsuit said. A woman who witnessed the attack called 911.

For more: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30907562/detail.html

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Colorado Hotel Sued By Woman "Bitten By A Vicious Dog" Owned By Hotel Guest; Written "Pet Care Policies" Not Followed According To Lawsuit

“…The lawsuit claims that employees at The Little Nell hotel, which provided dog-sitting services for Babu, knew the dog had violent tendencies…”

“The Little Nell’s Guide to Petiquette,” a set of written policies governing pet care and behavior at the hotel, required that a problem dog such as Babu either be removed from the premises or have a sitter overseeing it at all times, the lawsuit said, according to the Times. The lawsuit accuses the hotel of failing to follow its policy…”

The Aspen Skiing Co. and a New York socialite couple are defendants in a lawsuit that accuses them of keeping a vicious dog that bit a woman at the Gondola Plaza. Beth Fischer, of Aspen, filed a complaint Monday in Pitkin County District Court saying she has racked up more than $200,000 in medical bills after a black Labrador retriever bit her on Sept. 18, according to the Aspen Times.

She has had multiple surgeries to her hand and resulting staph infections because of the attack, the lawsuit said. Fischer’s lawsuit said that she was walking in the Gondola Plaza, near the outdoor tables at Starbucks, when a black Labrador named Babu Sarofim “leapt up from its position and lunged directly” at her, biting her left hand.

“Fischer was able to free her left hand from Babu’s mouth and she immediately realized she was injured and bleeding from the dog bite,” the lawsuit said. A woman who witnessed the attack called 911.

For more: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30907562/detail.html

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Sued For Violating "State Liquor Control Act" By "Over-Serving Alcohol" To Hotel Guest Who Sustained Critical Spinal Injury In Fall

“…The complaint seeks compensatory, punitive and other damages from the Hotel St. Francis and Heritage Hotels and Resorts of Albuquerque, which has managed the hotel since 2008. It says the defendants violated the state Liquor Control Act and other laws by over-serving alcohol to Sherman…”

A California man says in a lawsuit that he is a paraplegic because he was over-served alcohol at the Hotel St. Francis’ bar two years ago, fell down and damaged his spine.  Mike Sherman of Petaluma, Calif., accuses the hotel staff of destroying videos that might show how he ended up with a vertebral fracture at the downtown hotel.

According to a complaint filed April 1 in state District Court, Sherman checked into the St. Francis on April 26, 2010, then went to its Secreto Bar and ran up three tabs totaling $177.97.

By 8 p.m., bar manager Daniel Gonzales determined Sherman was intoxicated, served him one more cocktail and told bar employees that would be his last, yet he was served other drinks later, the complaint says.

By 10 p.m., it says, Gonzales walked Sherman to his room, but later that evening, or early the next day, security guard James Cox found Sherman unconscious and lying on the floor outside two other hotel rooms.  Sherman was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center for emergency treatment of his spinal injury, then transferred back to California for further treatment.

The complaint by lawyers Esteban Aguilar of Albuquerque and Michael Kelly of San Francisco says a lawyer working for Sherman’s partner, Scott Clark, called Steve Caalim, who was then the hotel’s general manager, to ask that he preserve videos or other records relating to the incident.

But Sherman was told that none of the hotel’s several security cameras were working that night, the complaint says, accusing the hotel of having the videos “intentionally destroyed, erased, deleted or otherwise tampered with … to hide, conceal or destroy evidence.”

For more:  http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Man-sues-hotel-over-spinal-injury

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Sued For Violating "State Liquor Control Act" By "Over-Serving Alcohol" To Hotel Guest Who Sustained Critical Spinal Injury In Fall

“…The complaint seeks compensatory, punitive and other damages from the Hotel St. Francis and Heritage Hotels and Resorts of Albuquerque, which has managed the hotel since 2008. It says the defendants violated the state Liquor Control Act and other laws by over-serving alcohol to Sherman…”

A California man says in a lawsuit that he is a paraplegic because he was over-served alcohol at the Hotel St. Francis’ bar two years ago, fell down and damaged his spine.  Mike Sherman of Petaluma, Calif., accuses the hotel staff of destroying videos that might show how he ended up with a vertebral fracture at the downtown hotel.

According to a complaint filed April 1 in state District Court, Sherman checked into the St. Francis on April 26, 2010, then went to its Secreto Bar and ran up three tabs totaling $177.97.

By 8 p.m., bar manager Daniel Gonzales determined Sherman was intoxicated, served him one more cocktail and told bar employees that would be his last, yet he was served other drinks later, the complaint says.

By 10 p.m., it says, Gonzales walked Sherman to his room, but later that evening, or early the next day, security guard James Cox found Sherman unconscious and lying on the floor outside two other hotel rooms.  Sherman was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center for emergency treatment of his spinal injury, then transferred back to California for further treatment.

The complaint by lawyers Esteban Aguilar of Albuquerque and Michael Kelly of San Francisco says a lawyer working for Sherman’s partner, Scott Clark, called Steve Caalim, who was then the hotel’s general manager, to ask that he preserve videos or other records relating to the incident.

But Sherman was told that none of the hotel’s several security cameras were working that night, the complaint says, accusing the hotel of having the videos “intentionally destroyed, erased, deleted or otherwise tampered with … to hide, conceal or destroy evidence.”

For more:  http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Man-sues-hotel-over-spinal-injury

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Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Elevator Mechanic Dies When Electrocuted During Maintenance Work Near Control Panel

“…(He) was performing maintenance in the engine room on the ninth floor of  the Axa Equitable building …when he was electrocuted just  after 9:30 p.m…”  

Con Edison was called to the scene for safety reasons, an  agency spokesman said, but it was unclear how the man came into contact with  live wires in the room that houses a control panel and a riser that works to  operate the building’s 34 elevators.

A 39-year-old elevator mechanic died when he was electrocuted at work in a  44-story midtown office building Wednesday night, fire and police officials  said.  Emergency responders found  the repairman unconscious and in cardiac arrest, a fire official said.  But  he died less than 30 minutes later, according to a police source.
“He’s  dead,” a fire source at the scene said. “He was lying on live  wires.”
Building workers said the man had been employed for the past five  years by the Schindler Group – a company that develops, installs and services  elevators and escalators, according to its website – which contracts with the  building to supply in-house mechanics to keep up with repairs.
“He has  three kids, it’s horrible,” said one coworker said. “He was a very nice guy. He  was hardworking and smart,” he said of his fallen friend. “But no one knows what  happened.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mechanic-electrocuted-elevator-manhattan-office-building-article-1.1052532#ixzz1qWQmFsvr

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Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Hotel's "Fatal Elevator Accident" Caused By Service Company's "Maintenance Errors"

Maintenance workers failed to enable a door safety circuit on an elevator moments before an advertising executive was killed after stepping into the elevator in an office tower in Midtown Manhattan, according to officials from the city’s Department of Buildings and the Department of Investigations.

According to officials, the workers did three things wrong:

  • They never re-enabled the safety circuit after performing the upgrade and restoring the elevator to normal service.
  • They did not post a warning that work was being performed, as required under the city’s building code.
  • They did not call the Buildings Department for an inspection, as legally required, before putting the elevator back into service.

If the circuit had been working properly, officials said, it would most likely have prevented the elevator from moving abruptly and pinning the executive, Suzanne Hart, inside an elevator shaft. As a result, the Buildings Department is suspending the license of the owner of the maintenance company, Transel Elevator, that performed the work and will seek to have the license revoked.

For more:  http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/city-blames-fatal-elevator-accident-on-poor-maintenance-work/

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