You came to New York for a wedding, a conference, a long weekend of shows. Or maybe you live in Queens and booked a room near JFK before an early flight. Either way, you expected a clean room and a good night's sleep. Instead you slipped on a wet marble lobby floor, or the shower door shattered, or an elevator stopped six inches short of the floor and you went down.
Now you're dealing with an injury, a hotel manager who was very sympathetic and very vague, and, if you're from out of town, a flight home in two days. Let's talk through what actually happens next. A hotel accident lawyer in NYC gets these calls from travelers and locals alike, and the first thing we tell everyone is this: the steps you take before you check out matter more than almost anything that comes after.
"Is the hotel actually responsible?"
Hotels in New York, like other property owners, generally owe guests a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe. That includes the lobby, hallways, stairs, elevators, pools, gyms, restaurants and your room. When a guest is hurt by a dangerous condition, the usual question is whether the hotel created the condition, or knew or should have known about it and failed to fix it or warn guests in a reasonable time. Lawyers call that last part "notice."
The fact that you got hurt doesn't make the hotel automatically liable. A freshly spilled drink in the lobby a guest dropped ten seconds earlier may not be the hotel's fault. A leaky ice machine that has puddled on the same hallway carpet for a week probably is. Our premises liability practice page explains notice and the other building blocks of these claims.
The injuries we hear about most
Slips and falls in lobbies, bathrooms and hallways
Polished stone floors are beautiful and, when wet, treacherous. Rainy days are the worst, when guests track water across the entrance. Bathrooms are the other big one: slick tubs without mats or grab bars, poorly draining showers, and floors left wet by housekeeping. Hallways bring torn carpet, loose thresholds and dim lighting.
Pools, spas and gyms
Pool decks need slip-resistant surfaces and drainage. Diving accidents in shallow water, missing depth markers, broken ladders and poorly maintained hot tubs all come up. Gym equipment that's broken or badly maintained can cause serious injuries too. Children's pool injuries deserve special attention, because supervision and posted rules matter.
Elevators and escalators
Elevators that mis-level, stopping above or below the floor, are a classic trip hazard. Doors that close on guests, sudden drops and stalls cause injuries too. Elevators in New York City are subject to inspection by the Department of Buildings, and those records can be requested. Our article on elevator and escalator accident claims covers these in depth.
Falling objects, broken furniture and fixtures
Shattered glass shower doors, collapsing chairs and bed frames, loose towel bars, falling ceiling tiles. These cases often turn on maintenance records and whether the hotel knew about similar problems.
Assaults and negligent security
Hotels aren't guarantors of their guests' safety from crime. But a hotel may be responsible when an attack was reasonably foreseeable and the hotel failed to take reasonable security measures, like working door locks, controlled access to guest floors, adequate lighting and responsive security staff. Prior incidents at the property often matter.
Bed bugs
Bed bug bites are miserable and can cause infections and allergic reactions. A claim usually depends on showing that the hotel knew or should have known about an infestation, through prior complaints or inspection reports, and didn't address it.
Food and room service
Foodborne illness from a hotel restaurant or room service, burns from hot liquids served carelessly, and allergic reactions after staff were told about an allergy can all be the basis of a claim.
Before you check out: the checklist
- Get medical care. Ask the front desk to call for help, or go to an urgent care or emergency room. Keep every record and receipt.
- Report it to management, in writing. Ask that an incident report be prepared. Ask for a copy. If they refuse to give you one, write down the name and title of the person who took the report.
- Photograph the scene right away: the floor, the water, the broken fixture, the elevator threshold, the lighting. Take wide shots and close-ups.
- Get witness names and contact information, including other guests and staff who saw what happened or saw the condition earlier.
- Ask the hotel, in writing, to preserve video. Lobbies, hallways and elevators are usually covered by cameras, and footage is often overwritten in a matter of days or weeks.
- Keep your booking confirmation, receipts and key card sleeve. They establish that you were a guest and when.
- Don't sign anything releasing the hotel from liability, and don't accept a "goodwill" refund that comes with a release, before speaking with a lawyer.
- Don't post the details on social media. Hotel insurers look.
"I live in another state. Can I still bring a claim here?"
Generally, yes. An injury at a New York hotel is typically governed by New York law and can be brought in a New York court, regardless of where you live. Much of the case can be handled remotely, with records, photos and video. You may need to return for a deposition or trial, though many cases settle before that.
The main thing for out-of-town guests is speed. Once you fly home, it's much harder to go back and photograph the scene, find witnesses or make sure the right people preserve evidence. That's why the checklist above matters so much.
Who else might be responsible?
Big hotels are complicated businesses. Depending on the facts, responsibility may be shared among:
- The owner of the building, which may be a separate company from the brand on the sign.
- A hotel management company that runs day-to-day operations.
- The franchisor, in limited circumstances, depending on how much control it has over operations.
- Contractors responsible for cleaning, security, elevators or maintenance.
- A separately operated restaurant, bar, spa or event venue in the building.
Identifying the right parties early matters, because each may have its own insurance and its own lawyers.
Deadlines and money
Personal injury claims against a private hotel in New York must generally be filed within three years of the injury under CPLR 214. Wrongful death claims generally have two years. If a public entity is involved, for example a city-owned sidewalk outside the hotel, a 90-day notice of claim may apply under General Municipal Law § 50-e.
Recoverable damages can include medical bills, lost income, the cost of travel for treatment, pain and suffering, and future care. New York's General Business Law § 200 limits a hotel's liability for guests' lost or stolen valuables when a safe is offered, but that rule is about property, not personal injury.
Because New York applies comparative fault, a hotel may argue you were partly responsible, for instance that you were rushing or ignored a wet floor sign. That generally reduces, but doesn't eliminate, recovery in a premises case.
Three short scenarios, and how they'd likely be looked at
The lobby on a rainy evening. A guest walks in from a downpour and slips on polished stone just inside the revolving door. There's no mat and no sign. Staff say they'd mopped twenty minutes earlier. Here, the questions are whether the hotel took reasonable precautions for a rainy day at a busy entrance: mats, signs, frequent checks. Video of the entrance in the hour before the fall would show how wet the floor was and whether anyone checked it. The "storm in progress" argument sometimes comes up even indoors, but a hotel is generally expected to manage a predictable wet entrance.
The shower door. A tempered-glass shower door shatters as a guest closes it, causing deep cuts. Did the hotel know about a chip or a loose hinge? Had housekeeping or maintenance reported it? Have other doors in the property failed the same way? Could the door itself have been defective? This is a scenario where the hotel and a product manufacturer might both be involved, and where photos of the glass and the hardware, taken before cleanup, are important.
The elevator that stopped short. A guest steps out of an elevator that stopped a few inches below the floor and falls. Elevator mis-leveling is a known maintenance issue. The hotel's elevator maintenance contractor, the service tickets and the Department of Buildings inspection history all come into play. Other guests may have noticed the same elevator acting up earlier that day.
None of these is a guaranteed case, and each depends on facts. But you can see the pattern: the strongest hotel cases usually involve a hazard that was predictable, a hotel that had a chance to deal with it, and evidence collected before it disappeared.
What the hotel's insurer will do
Large hotels and chains are typically insured, and many use claims administrators who reach out quickly. Expect a friendly call, an offer to "take care of" your medical bills, and a request for a recorded statement. The adjuster's job is to limit what the insurer pays. Questions about what you were doing, what you were wearing and whether you'd been drinking are routine and are used to build comparative fault arguments. It's reasonable to tell the adjuster you'll respond through your lawyer.
What about short-term rentals, hostels and extended-stay buildings?
Not every place travelers stay in New York is a traditional hotel. Hostels, extended-stay buildings and private rentals all bring their own questions. The basic duty to keep the premises reasonably safe still generally applies to whoever owns or controls the property, but who that is can be less obvious. An apartment rented through a platform might be owned by one person, managed by another and located in a building controlled by a third. New York City also heavily restricts short-term rentals, and whether a rental was lawful can sometimes affect the facts of a case.
If you were hurt somewhere other than a conventional hotel, the same checklist applies: document the condition, get the names of everyone involved in renting and managing the space, save every message and booking record, and get medical care promptly. Then let a lawyer sort out who was responsible for the condition that hurt you.
Hotels near home: Queens and the airports
Not every hotel case involves Midtown. Queens has a large concentration of hotels around JFK and LaGuardia, in Long Island City and along the Flushing waterfront. Our earlier post on hotel injuries in Queens focuses on those properties. And if you were hurt in a store, restaurant or shopping center rather than a hotel, see our store accident guide.
Talk to us before you leave town
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates represents guests injured at hotels across New York City, including travelers from out of state. We can start the evidence process while you're still here, and handle most of the case remotely once you're home. Consultations are free, in English, Russian or Spanish, and there's no fee unless we win. Call 718.775.3110 or contact us online.
Directions to Yakov Mushiyev & Associates
Our office is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, in southeast Queens near the Queens–Nassau border. The map below shows the route from Times Square, Manhattan. We also meet clients by video, at home or in the hospital.
Open turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps
Hotel accident FAQ
Can I sue a hotel in New York if I slipped and fell?
Possibly. You generally need to show the hotel created the dangerous condition, or knew or should have known about it and didn't fix it or warn guests in a reasonable time. Photos, the incident report, witness information and video are key evidence.
I'm from out of state. Do I need a New York lawyer?
Usually, yes. An injury at a New York hotel is generally handled under New York law and in New York courts, so you'll need a lawyer licensed here. Much of the case can be handled remotely after you return home.
Should I accept a refund or free nights from the hotel?
Be careful. Accepting a refund is not, by itself, a problem. But if the hotel asks you to sign anything in exchange, it may include a release of your injury claim. Don't sign before a lawyer reviews it.
How long do I have to file a hotel injury lawsuit in NYC?
Generally three years from the date of injury for a claim against a private hotel. Wrongful death claims generally have two years, and claims involving a public entity may require a notice of claim within 90 days.
Is the hotel responsible if another guest attacked me?
Sometimes. A hotel may be liable for negligent security if the attack was reasonably foreseeable, for example because of prior similar incidents, and the hotel failed to take reasonable measures like working locks, controlled access or adequate staffing.