Tourists and business travelers may sustain injuries in any number of ways while vacationing in or visiting another state. From slips and falls to car crashes to amusement park accidents, travelers are vulnerable to being hurt in unfamiliar places or when distracted by sightseeing or other vacation or business activities. Being injured while far from home is stressful enough. But, what can you do if you believe your injury was caused by someone’s negligence in a faraway state?
Often, the law of the state in which an accident occurs will control a legal action brought by an injured person, regardless of where the injured person lives. In some cases, the lawsuit seeking such recovery must also be filed in the state, and sometimes the county, in which a visitor’s accident occurred. This may present certain logistical problems for visitors who need to return home after their injuries. Though an attorney licensed in the state in which an action is filed will need to file the action, an injured visitor may utilize the assistance of a home-town lawyer in dealing with the out-of-state attorney.
The Killino Firm’s personal injury and accident lawyers are licensed in a number of states across the country and have extensive experience with injury cases of every variety, including those arising out of injuries sustained by tourists or business travelers while visiting another state. If you have been injured while traveling in another state, contact The Killino Firm for additional information about your legal options.
Legal Responsibility for Injuries Caused to Out-of-State Visitors
Businesses that invite people onto their premises, landowners, and others owe the very same duty of care to both out-of-state and in-state individuals. Thus, an out-of-state traveler who is injured by someone’s negligence, a defective product, or an unsafe condition on land may be entitled to recover damages to the same extent a state resident could.
Hotel Liability
Travelers frequently sustain injuries while on hotel property. Unsafe conditions on hotel grounds, such as icy walkways or parking lots, for example, may cause a hotel patron’s injury and result in the hotel owner’s liability for the damages suffered by the patron as a result. Falls down unlighted staircases, on slippery floors or pool areas, and on carpeting that hasn’t been properly tacked down may also result in a hotel’s liability for injuries caused to out-of-state residents.
Hotels may also be held liable for illnesses caused to guests through the ingestion of improperly prepared, inadequately refrigerated, or adulterated hotel food. Elevators that are not properly maintained may result in a hotel patron’s injury and the liability of both the hotel in which the elevator is located and any maintenance company responsible for elevator maintenance and repair.
Other Premises Liability
Out-of-state travelers may also be injured in locations other than hotels, such as grocery stores, restaurants, amusement parks, private residences, or other business premises. The premises liability law of most states governs the liability of owners and operators of these locations for injuries sustained on their premises.
A grocery store owner or operator may be held liable for injuries caused to an out-of-state customer who falls on a floor on which something has spilled or on which produce or other food has fallen. Grocers may also be held legally responsible for illnesses or poisonings caused to customers by inadequately refrigerated food, food that has been allowed to get too old for safe consumption, or food that is otherwise adulterated. Restaurant owners and operators may be found liable for similar injuries. In both cases, owners may also be required to pay damages to customers injured in grocery store or restaurant parking lots due to icy or otherwise slippery surfaces, for example, that were negligently allowed to exist by the owners. Premises owners may also be found liable for injuries caused by the negligent security of premises such as hotels, parking lots, and other areas where patrons may be injured by someone’s intentional act.
Vacationers and other travelers may also be injured while visiting a theme or amusement park. The owners and operators of these businesses may be held liable for an out-of-state visitor’s injury caused by the negligence of the owners or their employees, poorly maintained rides or other attractions, or dangerous conditions on premises.
Liability for Out-of-State Traffic Accident Injuries
Travelers frequently rent cars or other vehicles and may sustain traffic-accident injuries while visiting an out-of-state location. A driver may be held liable for injuries sustained by a traffic accident victim as a result of the driver’s negligence, regardless of whether the victim is a state resident or a visitor from another state. Accident injuries caused by a defect in a car rented by an out-of-state victim may also result in the liability of the rental car agency, the manufacturer of the vehicle, and others involved in the vehicle’s production and distribution.
Liability of Owners of Private Residences
Tourists or business travelers may visit friends or relatives at their private residences in another state. A homeowner who invites a person onto his property or into his home has a duty to exercise due care for the visitor’s safety while the visitor is on the premises. A homeowner may, thus, be found liable for injuries caused to an out-of-state visitor as a result of the homeowner’s serving of excessive amounts of alcohol or spoiled food, dangerous conditions on walkways or other areas the visitor is allowed to access, or an attack by a dog or other pet the owner knew to be aggressive and from which the owner failed to protect the visitor.
Obtain Expert Assistance from The Killino Firm, P.C.
The Killino Firm’s injury and premises liability attorneys have extensive experience with accident and negligence cases, including those involving injuries sustained by travelers who are visiting from out-of-state. If you have been injured as a result of someone’s negligence or a defective product, The Killino Firm can provide you with expert assistance in obtaining the compensation to which you are entitled.
