Photos & Video
For injuries involving a premises defect, if possible, take photos or video. Better yet, have a family member or traveling companion do it for you. Be careful. Don't concentrate solely on the defect, be it the cracked staircase, a broken threshold or dangerously slippery tile, to the exclusion of everything else. Remember to provide some context by photographing the general area surrounding the defect. Let me see the approach. Check your photos carefully. Are they in focus? Is the defect clear in the photos? Don't worry if it's not too clear - after all, if it was open and obvious you wouldn't have fallen on or over it. Are you able to place a quarter or a dollar bill (really any object with a known size) next to the defect to provide some sort of scale so I can determine size?
Witnesses
Save all names, email addresses and cell phone numbers of any eyewitnesses, especially non-employee hotel and resort guests who eye witnessed the accident. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the identity of "that firefighter from New Jersey" or "the orthopedic surgeon from Denver" who told you he saw the whole thing when dealing with a 500-room Caribbean resort. It is helpful if you have an email exchange with the witness either prior to leaving the resort, or just upon your return. Keep it very simple, thank them for assisting you and being willing to speak the truth about what they saw.
Check-In Docs
Save all hotel check-in documents - they may contain forum selection or choice of law clauses. These are almost always hidden in the check-in materials that you are forced to sign in order to stay at the hotel. We like to know about these sooner rather than later, if at all possible.
Booking Information
Print-off and save all your booking information. This could be email confirmations, email discussions with concierge, getting reservations in advance of your stay; essentially anything relating to the trip before it was undertaken. This is important as it may help us in any fight contesting jurisdiction, or forum non conveniens (inconvenient forum).
A Written Summary
Provide me with a summary of the events as they happened. Describe in as much detail as possible the exact location of your injury at the hotel, spa or resort property. Save all resort maps, guides and brochures. I will tell you that a significant percentage of the prospective clients that I see are often more enraged with the hotel or resort's treatment of them following the injury than they are with the injury itself. That is absolutely understandable. However, while I am more than happy to listen about the unsanitary conditions of the local hospital, my focus as your lawyer will be on the manner in which you were injured. How did it happen? Why did it happen? What is the mechanism of injury? Is this a design defect? Was the glass properly set? Was the water slide drop or plunge pool deep enough? How was the water pressure maintained? Why wasn't there a waterslide attendant at the top of the water slide when your child went down? Did they use the safety glass for the application? How well was the tile maintained? Was hotel security contacted? Did security follow-up when you reported a strange individual on the hotel premises? These are just some of the questions that roll through an attorney's head when discussing a possible new case with a client. A written summary containing all facts pertinent to your injury helps me understand if the hotel, resort, spa or other venue has responsibility for your injury and assists you with retention of pertinent facts prior to our meeting.
]]>While the traditional notions of an airport have been disrupted, certain regulatory aspects, most if not all of which are federally regulated, remain. Federal Aviation Regulations found at 14 CFR 139 require airports with commercial air service, and others, to meet compliance standards. Injuries can occur where, for example, there is inadequate or untimely reporting of airport conditions to operators and aircraft or where mandatory equipment is either not present or in inoperable order. In each instance, a through review of the pertinent regulations should be undertaken by an aviation lawyer to evaluate whether a legal claim can be made on behalf of the client.
A trap for the unwary exists where the airport injury takes place in the boarding area, jetways or on airstairs. Jetway (also sometimes referred to by clients as gangways) injuries can happen where airline contractors fail to fulfill their obligations to the passengers by safely seeing them to the aircraft doors or assist them onto aircraft. Jetway maintenance can be the responsibility of the airlines or the airport authority depending on the airport lease in question. An aviation attorney will know exactly how to determine the respective responsibilities of each party.
If an injury occurs in the process of either embarkation or disembarkation, the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of International Carriage by Air, otherwise known as the Montreal Convention may apply as the only remedy against an airline. In addition to its two-tiered liability structure, the Montreal Convention has its own statute of limitations (the time period from the injury during which suit must be filed or you will forever prevented from bringing your lawsuit) that may be significantly shorter than the one utilized by local law.
In conjunction with the requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations, airports may also be mandated through their municipal authority or governing bodies to maintain certain standards. For example, a recent case of ours involving what appeared to be a basic premises liability matter ("slip and fall" on ice in a covered area inside a parking structure) highlights the importance of digging through literally thousands of pages of documents and information. We were able to locate the contractual requirements for the parking structure operator and demonstrate that it failed to meet the standards required by the airport authority - although never once penalized or corrected by that authority. The result, a very advantageous settlement for our client who was led to believe by other attorneys that she had no case.
While not every serious injury at or in the airport environment involves aviation law (or even misconduct by another person or entity) an aviation attorney will be able to quickly identify and determine if liability exists and exactly which parties may be legally responsible.
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