The name on the sign may not be the defendant
Many hotels operate under a national brand but are owned by one company and managed by another, and the brand itself may have limited control over daily operations. A hotel injury claim usually depends on who controlled the condition that caused the harm and whether they knew or should have known about it. Security cases add a separate question about whether the incident was foreseeable given what had happened there before. Outside contractors, such as a pool service or an elevator maintenance company, can also be involved. Booking through a travel site does not usually change who is responsible for the property, though it may matter for refunds.
Before you leave the property
If you can, ask for an incident report to be made and note the name of the employee who took it; the hotel may decline to give you a copy, but the request itself is useful. Photograph the condition, your injuries, your footwear, and any warning signs or the lack of them. Keep your folio, receipts, and key card sleeve to show you were a registered guest, and collect contact details for any witnesses, including other guests. Get medical care and keep those records. Once home, send a written request asking the hotel to preserve surveillance footage promptly, because many systems overwrite recordings on a routine cycle.
Where an out-of-state claim belongs
When the injury happened in another state or country, the first questions are where the claim can be brought and whose law applies, and the filing deadline may be set by the place where you were hurt. A New York resident hurt at a hotel elsewhere may or may not be able to sue at home, depending on the defendants' connections to New York. We look at the timeline, the ownership and management of the property, and the insurance that may apply. We also talk through medical treatment and the work you have missed, so that decisions about timing rest on the full picture of the injury.
