Miami Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

We previously brought to you news about a young boy who tragically lost is life while riding his bicycle at Disney World. We also brought you the unfortunate news about a young boy who tragically lost his life while visiting Disney, as well as another story regarding a crash with a Disney bus where several people were injured.

Well, it is happened again. Sadly, another individual has lost his life at the hands of a bus at a Walt Disney World Resort.

According to authorities, a 69-year-old tourist from Massachusetts stepped in front of a Disney bus traveling through a parking lot at the Port Orleans resort Sunday afternoon. The man later died at an area hospital.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that there were passengers on the bus. Fortunately, none of the passengers were injured. Although the investigation is ongoing, FHP stated the elderly man was in the crosswalk and that the bus had the right of way. FHP's investigation into the young boy's death concluded the boy was responsible due to riding with deflated tires.

These incidents highlight the need to be careful and on the look out for obvious dangers while on vacation. We often forget about obvious dangers, such as a bus, while we are happily escaping our daily lives as we are away on vacation.

Here is a brief list of things we should all be mindful of while on vacation. Here's a quick summary of these helpful tips:

1. Follow pedestrian safety rules. Theme park and hotel parking lots are full of traffic. These parking lots often become chaotic because most of the drivers are confused tourists who are paying attention to their GPS devices rather than the road in front of them. Always use crosswalks and traffic lights on busy streets. Be patient and take the time to walk to crosswalks or a safe intersection. Make sure your children do the dame.

2. Drive defensively. Driving defensively is crucial because it allows you to avoid lost drivers and confused tourists.

3. Look out for theft. Don't leave your valuables in a parked stroller while on a ride or in a show. Take them with you or use a locker.

4. Be cautious in your hotel room. Beware of callers. Tourists are often victimized by callers who ask for a credit card number under the pretext of being a hotel employee. Keep your room locked at all times and be careful about answering your door.

Continue reading "Tourist Dies at Disney Resort After Being Struck by a Disney Bus" »

Recently, we discussed the dangers of gases in hotel and resorts. It now appears that gas may have been the cause behind the death of five individuals in a Hialeah hotel.

Police currently believe the deaths were caused after the individuals fell asleep and left a car running in the garage below their room. An investigation will determine whether improper ventilation played a role in these deaths.

This is just another illustration of how hotels often fail to take the appropriate measures to maintain their property to the detriment of those staying there. Our firm has handled plenty of cases where resorts and hotels have failed to properly maintain its premises resulting in serious injuries. Our firm has extensive experience handling these claims.

The incident in Hialeah is also not the first time a gas leak-related incident caused injuries, and death, to hotel or resort guests. Earlier this year, an explosion in a Mexcian Resort resulted in several deaths. That incident, as well as the incident yesterday in Hialeah, also brought back painful memories of an incident that occurred in 2006 at a Key West hotel involving a fatal carbon monoxide leak.

As for the incident at the Hialeah hotel, a maid working at the Presidente motel went up to the room and discovered the unfortunate scene. When police arrived they found the car was still running inside the garage.

This is what police believe happened: They believe someone in the room left the car running, shut the garage door and the poisonous gas drifted up the stairwell, into the room. As a result, it is believed the room was filled with carbon monoxide.

Despite this appearing to be a pure accident, building inspectors want to know whether the hotel room was properly ventilated. Improper ventilation may have played a factor in these deaths. According to Detective Zogby, the fire marshall and building inspectors are also investigating the deaths to determine whether there were appropriate safety measures in place.

A lieutenant of the Hialeah Fire Rescue stated: "It doesn't appear there is much ventilation other than the huge front door that you drive the vehicle through, but that door was closed already." The exact cause of death will be determined after an autopsy is performed, but at the moment it appears the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

Continue reading "Five People Found Dead at Hialeah Motel as a Result of a Lethal Carbon Monoxide Gas Leak" »

Wishing you and your family all the best during this holiday season, as well as peace and prosperity in the New Year.

A 39-year-old woman fell to her death at approximately 1:30 a.m. Monday morning from the top deck of the popular Roxy's Pub located in downtown West Palm Beach. This death left many co-workers shocked, and left two small children motherless.

While the authorities are still investigating this incident, this incident is another illustration of the types of incidents that can take place at popular establishments. While the economy is slowly working its way out of the doldrums, many local, and national, tourist attractions are still not hiring. This trend is even more troublesome in South Florida because the unemployment rate in South Florida is higher than the national unemployment rate.

Therefore, the possibility exists that many airports, resorts, hotels, convention centers and other tourist destinations, such as Roxy's Pub, are trying to do more with less. Many workers are beginning to feel overworked and may not be as careful as possible. This will lead to careless acts of negligence and clear omissions of duties. This will result in injuries.

While no one can guarantee that trip and falls, or slip and falls will not happen, a hotel or resort can provide safe pedestrian areas to prevent avoidable injury. In many cases, it is important to obtain photographs of the scene of the fall. Unsuspecting injury victims who trust the hotel or resort to "do the right thing," may be surprised when the dangerous condition is corrected and the owner or operator denies responsibility.

Continue reading "Mother of Two Dies After Falling From the Roof of a Popular West Palm Beach Night Club" »

Visitors to South Florida hotels and resorts often take advantage of our warm weather by swimming in pools that may or may not have lifeguards. While certainly present for recreational purposes, swimmers and hotels must be aware of the inherent dangers involved when swimming. The following case highlights the need for safety measures when a resort or hotel welcomes guests to use its aquatic facilities.

Back in August 2008, a six year old girl drowned at a resort in Northern Virginia. Presently, the victim's father is pursuing a $24 million lawsuit and it is set for trial in late April. The victim was visiting the resort, a former quarry, with her parents and four siblings. After playing in the water for close to an hour, she stepped off a ledge into deep water and was unable to recover and swim to safety. According to investigative records, lifeguards did not see the girl near this dangerous area.

Since she was not seen by lifeguards, water went over her head, and she drowned. There were no lifeguards in the elevated stand at the time and several witnesses mentioned that the four lifeguards on duty were texting or talking on their cell phones.

This is just another illustration of how resorts often fail to take the appropriate measures to maintain their property to the detriment of those staying there and using their facilities. Our firm has handled plenty of cases where resorts and hotels have failed to properly maintain its premises resulting in serious injuries. Our firm has extensive experience handling these claims.

The attorney for the victim's daughter stated that the resort should have been on notice about the risks because a month before this incident another individual drowned at the park. An expert witness opined that if "vigilant, strategically positioned , and appropriately trained lifeguards [had] been on duty, they would have and should have prevented [the victim] from progressing to the deeper water with such a severe drop-off."

After the incident, police conducted a safety evaluation. They concluded that three lifeguard stands should be manned at all times. Also, they concluded that cell phones are a distraction and should never be used by on duty lifeguards.

Continue reading "Drowning at Resort Occurred Because the Resort Failed to Have Properly Trained and Positioned Lifeguards on Location and Allowed the Lifeguards to Send Text Messages While on Duty" »

An 18-month old boy died after falling into a shallow fountain at a San Francisco hotel. Now, the hotel has placed a temporary 3-foot barrier around the fountain. The hotel installed the plastic barrier to prevent any more incidents while engineers figure out the best way to keep the fountain closed.

This is just another illustration of how hotels often fail to take the appropriate measures to maintain their property to the detriment of those staying there, and when they do act, it is often too late. Our firm has handled plenty of cases where resorts and hotels have failed to properly maintain its premises resulting in serious injuries. Our firm has extensive experience handling these claims.

The young boy was at the hotel with his twin sister, mother and nanny to escape a soggy day outside and to enjoy the hotel's holiday decor. He fell into the 2-feet-deep pool of water while his family was taking pictures of the festive decor all around the hotel. The family noticed he was missing and called the police to report that he was missing. Eight minutes after the phone call, a hotel security guard noticed the boys boy's lifeless body in the fountain.

After emergency crews arrived on the scene they tried to revive his pulse. They were able to resuscitate him on the way to the hospital. Sadly, the child still passed away due to the injuries he sustained in the incident. San Francisco Police Department officers investigated the incident, watched hotel surveillance tapes and concluded that it was a tragic accident.

Continue reading "Dangers Lurking in Many Hotels & Resorts That May Result in Serious Injuries" »

As northern temperatures cooled and Art Basel drew thousands to Miami, hotel occupancies were up in South Florida. The many wonderful hotels and resorts, in South Florida, offer wonderful accommodations and amenities.

Indeed, South Florida's economy is greatly dependent on tourism. Unfortunately, many of those tourists visiting South Florida end up being the unfortunate and helpless victims of injuries that could have been prevented, like a slip and fall, or the helpless victim of sexually related crimes, and other despicable acts of violence.

While the economy is slowly working its way out of the doldrums, many local, and national, tourist attractions are still not hiring. This trend is even more troublesome in South Florida because the unemployment rate in South Florida is higher than the national unemployment rate.

Therefore, the possibility exists that many airports, resorts, hotels, convention centers and other tourist destinations are trying to do more with less. Many workers are beginning to feel overworked and may not be as careful as possible. This will lead to careless acts of negligence and clear omissions of duties. This will result in injuries.

While no one can guarantee that trip and falls, or slip and falls will not happen, a hotel or resort can provide safe pedestrian areas to prevent avoidable injury. In many cases, it is important to obtain photographs of the scene of the fall. Unsuspecting injury victims who trust the hotel or resort to "do the right thing," may be surprised when the dangerous condition is corrected and the owner or operator denies responsibility.

Fortunately, Florida law has permitted us to assist many injury victims when dangerous floor surfaces, walkways or parking lots have caused preventable harm.

Continue reading "As Travel Increases to Many South Florida Resorts, So Do the Injuries" »

An explosion at a resort in Mexico resulted in the death of seven people, and injuring many more. It was initially believed that the explosion was caused by the build up of organic gases which ignited since the resort was built on the site of a former swamp.

However, further investigation revealed that the explosion was likely caused by a propane gas leak that caught fire. Mexican officials found leaks of waste water and propane near the explosion site. As a result, and to ensure the safety of everybody else at the resort, half of the resort was closed. Officials also discovered that the underground pipes that carried propane and waste water at the resort failed to conform with the original plans filed with the local government.

This is just another illustration of how hotels often fail to take the appropriate measures to maintain their property to the detriment of those staying there. Our firm has handled plenty of cases where resorts and hotels have failed to properly maintain its premises resulting in serious injuries. Our firm has extensive experience handling these claims.

This is certainly not the first time a gas leak-related incident caused injuries, and death, to hotel or resort guests. This Mexican explosion brought to mind an incident that occurred in 2006 at a Key West hotel involving a fatal carbon monoxide leak.

In 2006, at a popular Key West hotel, a young man passed away after succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. An investigation ultimately concluded that the carbon monoxide came from a boiler room that was situated next this man's hotel room. This incident ultimately led to a public outcry calling for greater safety measures. After a strong push to take action, the State of Florida passed legislation that requires the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in new commercial buildings with boiler rooms.

Unfortunately, tragedies must often take place for reforms to become a reality. Mexico, a country that heavily relies on tourism, must ramp its safety regulations and inspections at its hotels and resorts. This is certainly true with this gas explosion because it was unexpected and the large majority of them are because gases are often colorless and odorless. Accordingly, a proactive approach must be taken when it comes to preventing gas leaks.

Continue reading "Explosion at Mexican Resort Results in Many Deaths and Offers a Reminder of the types of Dangers present at Resorts" »