Millions of people visit casinos every year. They come from all over the country to play the slots or watch shows and concerts from the world’s biggest entertainers. What happens if you are injured in an accident at a casino? At Ace Law Group, we have helped many people hold casino owners accountable for premises liability accidents. We encourage you to pick up the phone and call our offices. A member of our team can discuss your odds of bringing a successful injury claim against a casino.
What Duties Does a Casino Owe You?
Casinos open their doors to the public. If you go into a casino to gamble or watch a show, then you are considered an “invitee” under Nevada premises liability law. The same is true if you rent a hotel room. As an invitee, you are owed certain duties, like the following.
Protect You from Known Hazards
There are many different hazards in a casino. For example, you might slip and fall on:
- Loose or worn-out carpets
- Missing tiles
- Liquid or condensation on the floor
- Mopped floors
Once casino staff know of a hazard, they need to protect you from it. In some cases, they can immediately fix the hazard. In others, they might only warn you of a hazard or possibly cordon off a dangerous area. For example, tile might be falling from the ceiling. If the casino can’t immediately fix it, they should restrict access to the area so no one is hurt.
Fix Defective Products
The casino should swap out any product that is dangerous or defective. That might mean getting rid of defective furniture or hair dryers in hotel rooms, as well as dangerous stools or seats on the casino floor.
The fact that the casino didn’t create the dangerous product isn’t relevant. Once they know something is dangerous, they should protect their guests and ideally get rid of the dangerous item.
Regularly Inspect the Premises
Casinos also owe a duty to protect invitees from hazards the casino should reasonably discover. Usually, this means that staff need to regularly inspect the premises. It’s not an excuse for them to claim they “didn’t know” about a hazard if it has existed for a long time.
Casinos should undertake regular and reasonable inspections. If they find out about a hazard, they should fix it within a reasonable time.
Operate the Facility to Code
Casinos must operate their businesses in conformity with all relevant facility codes. That means protecting against fire and electrocution hazards. They also need to protect invitees from crowds. They should not let too many people into the casino, because a crowd could easily get out of control and accidentally stomp someone.
Provide Reasonable Security
Casinos also owe a duty to provide reasonable security to guests. This means they should employ sufficient security measures to protect against foreseeable criminal activity. Some of the most common security measures include:
- Surveillance video. Casinos have well-developed surveillance systems in place, which helps them monitor activity on the floor and catch fraud. Staff are usually watching the video in real-time, so they should see if a crime is being committed or if someone is attacked in the casino. They should also intervene promptly.
- Security guards. Guards can investigate and protect customers from foreseeable crimes.
- Locks on doors. The casino should have locks on hotel doors and windows, as well as other basic security.
- Parking lot protections. The casino should protect invitees from crime regardless of where they are on the property.
Staff should also respond appropriately to suspected problems. That means investigating anything that looks suspicious or responding to complaints from other customers of dangerous behavior.
When a crime is committed, the casino is not always legally liable. They don’t guarantee your safety. Instead, they have liability if they do not employ reasonable security measures.
Duties of a Trespasser
A trespasser is on the premises without permission or right. They might have entered without permission, such as after hours, or they might have refused to leave when requested.
Generally, a casino cannot intentionally hurt a trespasser. That means they can’t throw you out of the casino so that you land on your neck. They also can’t set traps to physically harm you.
If the casino knows you are trespassing and face danger, they might need to protect you. Please consult an experienced premises liability lawyer at Ace Law Group. We can dig in deeper to find out what duties you were owed.
Can You Receive Compensation for an Accident in a Casino?
Possibly. We can help anyone request financial compensation for:
- Slip and falls
- Trip and falls
- Electrocutions
- Violent attacks due to negligent security
- Food poisoning
- Elevator or escalator accidents
- Burn injuries in a fire
Call us today. We will investigate what happened and try to pinpoint who is to blame. As mentioned above, casinos have duties to protect guests from known hazards, as well as hazards the casino could reasonably uncover. Our firm knows how to obtain the maximum compensation for our clients.
One limitation on your ability to receive compensation is comparative negligence. You might have been hurt because you also failed to use reasonable care. That makes you partially at fault.
Nevada is a modified comparative negligence state. Under NRS 41.141, you can receive compensation provided your negligence is not greater than the casino’s. Your financial compensation is reduced proportionally—but at least you can still seek compensation. If you are more than 50% to blame, however, you will receive nothing at all.
A casino might claim you slept with the door open, leading to an attack, or you were looking at your phone and didn’t see an obvious hazard on the floor. In these situations, your own negligent behavior is partially to blame, so you might not receive as much compensation from the defendant.
Speak with a Premises Liability Lawyer
Accident victims and their loved ones have counted on Ace Law Group to provide quality legal representation. We have helped many visitors from other states and will explain more about our legal services in a consultation. Contact us today.