Hotel and Airbnb Injuries in Downtown Chicago: Know Your Rights as a Visitor

Hotel and Airbnb Injuries in Downtown Chicago: Know Your Rights as a Visitor

Welcome to Chicago! Whether you are here for a business trip, a family vacation, or a weekend getaway, we are happy to have you. You probably planned to see the sights, enjoy our great food, and have a wonderful time. The last thing you expected was to get hurt.

An injury can turn a fun trip into a stressful nightmare. Suddenly, you are in pain, away from home, and facing medical bills. You might not know where to turn or what to do next. This can be scary, but we want you to know something very important: you are not alone.

If you were injured in a hotel or an Airbnb in downtown Chicago, you have rights. The owners of the property where you are staying have a job to keep you safe. When they don't, and tourists get hurt, they should be held responsible.

This article is for you, the visitor. We will explain in simple terms what your rights are and what you should do after an injury. Our goal is to give you clear, helpful information. You do not have to figure this out by yourself. The experienced personal injury lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. are here to help you.

Your Rights as a Guest in Chicago

When you pay to stay somewhere, whether it is a big hotel on the Magnificent Mile or a cozy Airbnb in a neighborhood, the owner has a legal duty to you. This duty is part of an area of law called "premises liability."

What does that mean in plain English? It means the person or company that owns or manages the property must take reasonable steps to keep it safe for guests. They need to fix dangers they know about. If they can’t fix a problem right away, they should warn you about it. For example, if a staircase is broken, they should put up a sign and block it off. If they fail to do this, and you get hurt, they may be legally at fault.

Think of it like this: if you invite a friend to your house, you would warn them about a slippery spot on the floor. Hotel and Airbnb owners have a similar, but more formal, responsibility. Illinois law is very clear that property owners must use reasonable care to protect people who are legally on their property.

This rule applies to all parts of the property, including:

• Your hotel room or rental unit
• Hallways and lobbies
• Stairwells and elevators
• Swimming pools and fitness centers
• Parking lots and garages
• Restaurants and bars inside the hotel

If an unsafe condition in any of these areas causes your injury, the owner could be responsible for your medical bills and other costs. An experienced attorney at Abels & Annes, P.C. can help figure out if the property owner was careless and what your next steps should be.

Common Ways Visitors Get Hurt in Hotels and Airbnbs

An injury can happen in many ways during your stay. Because you are in an unfamiliar place, you might not be aware of hidden dangers. At Abels & Annes, P.C., we have seen how a simple hazard can cause serious injuries.

Some of the most common accidents we see include:

Slip and Fall Accidents

These are very common and can cause serious harm, like broken bones or head injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are a leading cause of injury. In a hotel or Airbnb, they can be caused by:

• Wet floors in lobbies or bathrooms with no warning signs.
• Recently mopped or waxed floors that are still slippery.
• Spilled food or drinks that were not cleaned up.
• Leaky air conditioners or pipes that drip onto the floor.
• Icy or snowy sidewalks at the entrance that were not salted or shoveled.

Trip and Fall Accidents

Tripping over something can be just as dangerous as slipping. These accidents happen when walkways are not clear.

• Torn or bunched-up carpets and rugs.
• Electrical cords stretched across a walking path.
• Poor lighting in hallways, stairwells, or parking garages.
• Broken or uneven steps on a staircase.
• Luggage carts or cleaning supplies left in the middle of a hallway.

Broken Furniture

You expect the chair you sit on or the bed you sleep in to be safe. When furniture is old, poorly made, or broken, it can collapse and cause a serious injury.

Swimming Pool Accidents

A fun day at the pool can turn tragic quickly. Hotel owners must keep the pool area safe.

• Slippery surfaces around the pool without non-slip mats.
• Broken ladders or diving boards.
• Lack of proper safety equipment, like life rings.
• Poor lighting for night swimming.

Elevator and Escalator Injuries

We trust elevators and escalators to work correctly. When they don't, people can get seriously hurt. This can happen if the elevator stops suddenly, the doors close on someone, or it doesn't line up with the floor, creating a trip hazard.

Assaults or Theft Due to Poor Security

Hotels and rental hosts have a duty to provide a secure place to stay. This includes protecting guests from crime. If a property has a history of crime but doesn't take steps to fix it, they could be held responsible if a guest is attacked or robbed. Illinois even has specific laws, like the Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act, designed to protect people on hotel properties. Examples of poor security include:

• Broken locks on doors or windows.
• Poor lighting in parking lots or hallways.
• Not having security guards in a high-crime area.
• Giving a key to your room to the wrong person.

Food Poisoning

If you get sick from eating at a hotel's restaurant or from room service, the hotel could be responsible. The CDC warns that foodborne germs can cause serious illness. Hotels must follow health and safety codes to make sure the food they serve is safe.

If any of these things happened to you, it is not your fault. You should not have to pay for someone else’s mistake. A lawyer can help you hold the right people accountable.

Hotels vs. Airbnbs: What’s the Difference for Your Case?

While both hotels and Airbnb hosts have a duty to keep you safe, how a legal case works can be a little different for each.

Hotels are businesses. They are often part of large companies and have to follow many rules. They usually have large insurance policies to cover accidents. When you are hurt at a big hotel, you are often dealing with a team of lawyers and insurance adjusters who work for the hotel company. Their goal is to protect the company, not to help you. They may offer you a quick, small payment to make you go away. You should never accept an offer without talking to a lawyer first.

Airbnb and other vacation rentals are often owned by private individuals. The owner might not be a big company, but they still have a responsibility to you as a guest. Figuring out who is responsible can sometimes be tricky. Is it the person who owns the apartment? Is it a property management company? Or is it Airbnb itself? Many homeowners have insurance, but it might not cover injuries to paying guests. As the Chicago Tribune has reported, safety standards and accountability can be major concerns in short-term rentals. 

This is where having a skilled lawyer is so important. The attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. know how to investigate these cases. We figure out who owns the property, who is responsible for its safety, and what insurance is available. Whether you were hurt at a major hotel chain or a single-family home rental, we know how to build a case to get you the money you deserve.

How Our Attorneys Win Your Chicago Hotel & Airbnb Injury Case

When you hire one of our attorneys, you are getting a dedicated fighter on your side. We have a team of about five lawyers who focus only on personal injury law. We have a track record of winning millions for our clients, and we want to fight for you. Here is what we do:

We Investigate Your Case Thoroughly

We act fast to preserve evidence. We may send investigators to the accident scene to take professional photos and measurements. We will demand that the hotel or property owner save any security camera footage of the incident before it is erased. We will track down and interview witnesses. We leave no stone unturned to find out exactly what happened and why.

We Prove the Owner Was Careless

Just because you fell doesn't automatically mean you have a case. We have to prove that the property owner did something wrong. We use the evidence we gather—photos, witness statements, maintenance records, and expert opinions—to build a strong case that shows the owner's carelessness caused your injury.

We Calculate All of Your Losses

An injury costs more than just medical bills. We work to get you money for all the ways the injury has affected your life. This can include:

• Medical Expenses: Every dollar for your hospital stay, surgery, doctor visits, physical therapy, and medicine. This includes future medical care you might need.
• Lost Wages: The money you lost from being unable to work. If you cannot return to your old job, we can seek money for your lost future earning ability.
• Pain and Suffering: This is money to compensate you for the physical pain and emotional stress you have gone through. A ruined vacation is a significant loss of enjoyment, and you deserve to be compensated for that.
• Other Costs: This could include your travel expenses to get home after the injury or any other out-of-pocket costs.

We Handle the Insurance Companies

You will not have to speak to an insurance adjuster again. We take over all communications. We know their tactics. We have won multi-million dollar settlements for our clients, like the $4,500,000 we secured for a woman injured due to a dangerous condition on a commercial property. We are not afraid to stand up to big insurance companies and demand the full amount of money you deserve.

We Are Ready for Court

Most personal injury cases are settled out of court. But if the insurance company refuses to make a fair offer, we are prepared to take your case to trial. Our attorneys are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an honor for lawyers who have won million-dollar and multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements. We have been named to the Top 100 Lawyer List by Super Lawyers. We have the experience to fight for you in front of a judge and jury.

Special Cases: Alcohol and Lost Property

Two other issues can come up during a hotel stay: injuries caused by other guests and lost or stolen property.

Injuries Caused by Drunk Guests

What if another guest at the hotel bar has too much to drink and starts a fight, injuring you? In some situations, the hotel may be responsible. Illinois has laws that can hold a business responsible for injuries caused by a person they over-served. An experienced lawyer can look at the facts to see if the hotel shares the blame.

Lost or Stolen Belongings

If your laptop, jewelry, or other valuables are stolen from your room, you might think the hotel has to pay you back for the full value. However, state laws often protect innkeepers by limiting how much they have to pay, especially if they provide a safe for guests to use. These laws are confusing, and hotels use them to avoid paying what they should. We can help you fight to get the fair value for your lost or damaged property.

The Illinois Statute of Limitations: A Strict Deadline for Your Injury Claim

If you have been hurt, you cannot afford to wait. In Illinois, there are strict legal deadlines for filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to get any money for your injuries, forever.

Even more practically, evidence disappears quickly. Security videos are often recorded over within days. Witnesses may move or their memories may fade. The sooner you call an attorney, the better our chances of building the strongest possible case for you.

Start Your Free Case Review with Our Top-Rated Chicago Attorneys

Getting hurt is hard. Getting hurt when you are far from home is even harder. You need a law firm that understands what you are going through and has the skill to win.

At Abels & Annes, P.C., we treat our clients like friends. We speak in plain language, not confusing legal jargon. We are available 24/7 to answer your questions and give you updates on your case. Our lawyers have been recognized as some of the best in Illinois, with "10.0 Superb" ratings on Avvo and selections to the Super Lawyers list. We serve clients in English, Spanish, and Polish.

Best of all, we work on a "No Fee Unless You Win" basis. This means you pay us nothing unless we get you money. There is no risk in calling us.

Your trip to Chicago did not go as planned, but you can take control of your future. Let us fight for you.

Call Abels & Annes, P.C. today for a free, no-pressure talk about your case. We are standing by to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.