Primary Location
Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
2700 N Central Ave Suite 320, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
Phone: (602) 905-7766
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Call us at (855) 855-8910
We've handled a lot of hotel injury cases across the Valley. What surprises most people? How often these injuries were totally preventable. Wet pool decks nobody mopped. Elevators that hadn't been serviced in years. Stairwells with burned-out lights. Hotels rake in money from Arizona's tourism boom, but plenty of them cut corners on upkeep.
At The Simon Law Group, we take on premises liability claims against hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals throughout Phoenix. If you got hurt because a hotel didn't keep their property safe, we want to hear about it. Call (602) 905-7766 for a free consultation.
Think about how many people pass through Phoenix hotels every year. Spring training alone packs the Camelback Corridor resorts for weeks. Add in conventions downtown and snowbird season, and occupancy stays high almost year-round. More guests, more wear and tear, more things that break. Here's what we see come through our office most:
Sound familiar? If something like this happened to you at a Phoenix hotel, you probably have grounds for a claim.
Wet pool decks, unmarked lobby spills, and slippery bathroom tile are the most frequent causes of a hotel slip and fall that leaves guests seriously injured.
Here's something most injured guests don't know. Arizona actually holds hotels to a pretty high standard. Way higher than what people assume.
When you check into a hotel, you're what the law calls an "invitee." That's the highest category of visitor under Arizona premises liability law. So the hotel can't just sit back and wait for things to break. They've got an active duty to inspect the property, fix hazards they find, and warn you about stuff they haven't gotten around to fixing yet.
The legal test works like this: a hotel is liable when it knew — or should have known — about a dangerous condition and didn't do anything about it. That "should have known" part trips up a lot of hotels. Can't tell us you didn't know the pool deck tiles were cracked when you haven't inspected them in six months. That excuse doesn't fly.
What about liability waivers? Some hotels sneak waiver language into booking agreements or hand you something to sign at check-in. Don't let that scare you. Under Arizona law, a waiver can't protect a hotel from its own negligence. They can't contract their way out of failing to maintain safe conditions.
Both the management company and the property owner can be on the hook. This comes up all the time in Phoenix. Big hotel chains layer responsibility between the company running day-to-day operations and the entity that actually owns the building. Tourists visiting from out of state don't realize they might be dealing with three or four different corporate entities. We dig through that structure to find every party that's liable.
And if you were visiting Phoenix from another state when you got hurt — you file your claim here in Arizona. Don't need to be a resident.
What you do right after the injury matters more than most people think. Here's the playbook we give our clients:
1. Report it to hotel management immediately. Get that incident report in writing. If the front desk gives you the runaround, write everything down yourself and send it via email or text. You need that paper trail.
2. Go see a doctor. Banner University Medical Center and HonorHealth are both close to downtown. Urgent care clinics in Arcadia or Tempe work for something less severe. Look — even if you feel okay, go anyway. Plenty of injuries don't show symptoms for days. And if there's a gap in your medical records? The insurance company will jump all over that.
3. Take photos of everything. The wet floor. The broken railing. The dark hallway. The pool area. Whatever caused your injury, photograph it before the hotel cleans it up or fixes it. They move fast after someone gets hurt. Your phone timestamps every shot, and that timestamp turns into evidence later.
4. Get names and numbers from witnesses. Other guests, hotel employees, anyone who saw it happen. People leave. Memories fade. Get contact info while you can.
5. Save every receipt and bill. Booking confirmation, room charges, ambulance ride, pharmacy receipts, everything. All of it feeds into your damages calculation down the road.
6. Don't sign anything the hotel puts in front of you. Some hotels will push paperwork after an injury that's designed to protect them, not you. Nothing gets signed until a lawyer looks at it.
7. Don't give a recorded statement to their insurance company. They'll call. They'll sound friendly. "We just need the basics." What they're actually doing is fishing for something they can use against your claim later.
8. Call a Phoenix hotel injury lawyer fast. Here's why speed matters: most hotels record over their security camera footage every 48 to 72 hours. Maintenance logs get "updated." Wet floors dry. Once your attorney sends a preservation letter, the hotel has to keep that evidence. But only if we get there in time.
Four elements. That's what every hotel injury case boils down to. You need all four or the claim doesn't hold up.
Duty. Did the hotel owe you a duty of care? As a paying guest, yes. This piece is usually the easy one.
Breach. Did they drop the ball? A cracked pool deck tile they never repaired. A spill in the lobby that sat there for half an hour. A room door lock that management already knew was broken.
Causation. Did that breach cause your injury? You slipped on the cracked tile. You were assaulted because the lock was busted. Straight line from their failure to your harm.
Damages. Did you suffer real harm? Medical bills, missed work, pain that won't go away.
Where things get interesting — and where we win a lot of cases — is constructive notice. The hotel doesn't have to be formally told about a hazard. If a basic inspection would have caught the problem, they're liable. Picture a puddle in the lobby during a packed check-in rush. Nobody cleaned it for 30 minutes. That's constructive notice right there. Any reasonable hotel would have spotted it.
What kind of evidence makes these cases strong?
One thing you should know about Arizona: we use a comparative fault system under A.R.S. 12-2505 [2]. Even if a jury says you were 25% at fault, you still collect 75% of your damages. Your share of blame reduces your payout — but it doesn't kill your case. The hotel's insurer will absolutely try to push your fault percentage up. Having a lawyer who knows how to fight that back makes a real difference.
We recovered $900,000 for a client who slipped on water from an ice machine at a commercial property. Needed a total knee replacement. The jury put 100% of the blame on the property owner. We build hotel injury cases the same way — piece by piece until the evidence speaks for itself.
So what's your case actually worth? That depends on how badly you were hurt and what we can prove. But here are the categories of compensation available under Arizona law:
Medical bills — now and in the future. ER visits, surgery, rehab, ongoing treatment. A fall at a hotel pool that damages your spine? That could mean years of follow-up care. Burns from bad wiring might need skin grafts and wound management for months.
Lost income. Paychecks you missed while recovering. And if the injury affects what you can earn going forward — say you're in construction or nursing or any physically demanding job — that number gets big fast. Especially for younger workers with decades of earning ahead of them.
Pain and suffering. Chronic pain changes your whole life. Same with the anxiety and fear that follow a bad injury. Arizona courts take these damages seriously, even though they're harder to put a dollar figure on.
Loss of enjoyment of life. This one really stings for vacation injuries. You flew to Phoenix to unwind. Maybe catch some spring training games, sit by the pool, explore Old Town Scottsdale. Instead you're headed home with a broken bone or a traumatic brain injury. The trip that was supposed to be relaxing turned into something you can't stop thinking about.
Wrongful death. When a hotel accident kills someone, the surviving family can pursue compensation. Funeral costs, loss of companionship, emotional distress for the people left behind.
Punitive damages. Reserved for the worst behavior. Think of a hotel that got complaint after complaint about a balcony railing about to collapse — and still didn't fix it. That's not carelessness anymore. That's recklessness, and Arizona courts can punish it.
If you traveled from out of state, there are extra costs too. Flying back to Phoenix for medical follow-ups, depositions, court dates. Those travel expenses are part of what you can recover.
Deadlines can kill a perfectly good case. We've seen it happen. Someone waits too long and there's nothing we can do for them.
You've got two years to file. Under A.R.S. 12-542 [3], two years from the date you were injured. Sounds like a lot of time, right? It isn't. Not when you factor in months of medical treatment, collecting records, negotiating with insurance. The calendar moves faster than you'd expect.
There's a discovery rule exception. Sometimes the full extent of an injury doesn't show up right away. A head injury that seems minor at first but six months later turns into a serious neurological problem. In that scenario, the clock starts when you knew or should have known about the injury — not when the accident happened.
Arizona's comparative fault system works in your favor. Under A.R.S. 12-2505, being partly at fault doesn't wipe out your claim. Were you 10% responsible? You still recover 90%. The hotel's insurance adjuster will work hard to pin more blame on you. That's their job. Don't let it stop you from picking up the phone.
Government property claims have a much shorter fuse. Hotels or event venues on government-owned land — some facilities near the Phoenix Convention Center fall into this category — those require a notice of claim within 180 days. Not two years. Six months. Miss that window and the facts of your case don't matter.
Evidence disappears quick. Security footage gets recorded over within days at most hotels. Maintenance records have a way of getting "lost." And witnesses who were in town for a Suns game or a trade show? They go home and forget the details. Spring training, the Super Bowl, big conventions — these events pack Phoenix hotels and create spikes in injuries. The sooner we start, the more evidence we can lock down for you.
Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases across Arizona and California. We know how Phoenix insurance companies operate, and we know how to push back.
That number reflects real results for real families — medical bills paid, lost wages recovered, and futures protected.
You pay nothing upfront. Our fee comes out of your settlement or verdict. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.
Accidents do not follow business hours. Neither do we. Call (602) 905-7766 any time — nights, weekends, and holidays.
Our Phoenix team works out of 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320. We know the roads, the courts, and the insurance adjusters you are up against.
“After a crash, you need a team that answers the phone, explains your options, and fights for every dollar you are owed. That is what we do at The Simon Law Group.”
Over 250 years of combined attorney experience
Phoenix office at 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320 |
Licensed in Arizona and California
Yes, if the hotel failed to maintain safe pool deck conditions or did not warn about wet surfaces. Arizona premises liability law applies to hotel pool areas. Hotels are required to maintain proper drainage, non-slip surfaces, and warning signage around pools.
Waivers don't protect hotels from their own negligence under Arizona law. A lawyer can evaluate whether the waiver applies to your specific situation. In most cases, a standard booking waiver won't hold up against a negligence claim.
Two years from the date of injury under A.R.S. 12-542. Acting sooner preserves key evidence like security camera footage that hotels record over within days.
Yes. Arizona courts handle claims from out-of-state visitors. Your lawyer can manage most of the process remotely so you don't need to make repeated trips back.
The hotel is typically responsible for employee actions under a legal doctrine called respondeat superior. Both the hotel chain and the local management company can be liable.
Arizona uses pure comparative fault. Your compensation is reduced by your share of blame but not eliminated. Even at 99% fault you can still recover 1% of your damages. The hotel's insurer will try to inflate your percentage. That's where a lawyer makes the difference.
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