Hotel Injury Attorney Kent County: Injured While Traveling? Here’s Your Legal Route

When you check into a hotel, you expect safety—not setbacks. But across Kent County, hotel injuries are an all-too-common result of poor maintenance, unsafe conditions, and careless management. These aren’t just inconveniences. They’re violations of trust—and under Michigan law, they may also be violations of your legal rights.

Hotels have a legal duty to protect their guests. That includes keeping floors dry, securing hazardous areas, fixing broken equipment, and ensuring all areas—public and private—are properly maintained. When that duty is breached, the consequences can be serious: broken bones, burns, traumatic brain injuries, or long-term pain that changes how you live, work, and move.

These injuries are often brushed off by hotel staff or management. But make no mistake: most hotel injuries are not random—they’re preventable. Failing to follow basic safety protocols, ignoring maintenance issues, or cutting corners to save money can all create dangerous environments for guests. And when that happens, the hotel should be held accountable.

If you were injured at a hotel in Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Kentwood, or anywhere in Kent County, you may be entitled to compensation—even if you were just visiting from out of state. Michigan premises liability laws protect hotel guests, and strict legal standards apply when businesses fail to meet their duty of care.

At Marko Law, we know what it takes to hold hotels and their insurance companies responsible. We move fast to investigate, gather evidence, and build a powerful case for maximum recovery. Whether your injury was caused by a fall, a structural hazard, or unsafe hotel operations, you don’t have to carry the cost alone.

Legal Duty of Care: Hotels and Premises Liability

What Hotels Are Required to Do Under Michigan Law:

• Inspect the property regularly for potential dangers
• Repair unsafe conditions in a timely and responsible manner
• Warn guests about known risks that aren’t yet fixed (e.g., signage for wet floors)
• Train staff properly to prevent negligent or unsafe behavior
• Ensure security measures are in place, especially in high-risk areas

If a hotel knew—or should have known—about a hazard and failed to act, they can be held liable for the injuries that result. That includes issues like:

• Loose flooring, broken stairs, or exposed wiring
• Poor lighting in hallways or parking lots
• Malfunctioning elevators or unsafe pools
• Untrained or negligent hotel staff causing injury

Negligence doesn't require intent. It only requires a failure to meet the legal duty of care owed to guests. And when that failure leads to injury, Michigan law gives victims the right to pursue compensation.

Negligence and Breach of Duty in Michigan

1. Duty of Care

Hotels owe a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for guests. This includes the obligation to:

• Regularly inspect the property
• Fix known hazards
• Warn guests of potential risks
• Train staff to prevent harm

2. Breach of Duty

The hotel breached that duty by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent or correct a dangerous condition. Common breaches include:

• Ignoring complaints about a known hazard
• Delaying repairs on broken stairs or flooring
• Failing to address inadequate lighting or security
• Allowing unsafe behavior by staff or third-party contractors

3. Causation

There must be a direct link between the hotel’s failure and your injury. It’s not enough that the condition was dangerous—it must be shown that their inaction caused the harm you suffered.

4. Damages

You must prove actual harm or loss. This may include:

• Emergency medical treatment
• Hospital stays or rehabilitation
• Lost income due to missed work
• Long-term disability or pain
• Emotional trauma

Negligent Security and Third-Party Liability

Negligent Security

Hotels are responsible for more than just clean sheets and working elevators—they’re responsible for guest safety, including protection from foreseeable criminal acts.

A hotel may be liable if it fails to implement basic security measures and someone is injured as a result. These security failures include:

• Poor lighting in hallways, stairwells, or parking garages
• Broken or missing locks on doors or windows
• No surveillance or alarm systems in high-risk areas
• Lack of trained security personnel in locations with known safety concerns

If there’s a history of assaults, thefts, or break-ins and the hotel failed to respond with proper precautions, that failure can constitute negligent security. Victims of robbery, sexual assault, or other violence may have a strong premises liability claim.

Third-Party Liability

Injuries don’t always stem directly from hotel employees or management—but that doesn’t mean the hotel is off the hook.

Hotels often hire contractors or vendors for services like cleaning, repairs, or food delivery. If one of these third parties causes harm due to their own negligence, both the third party and the hotel may share liability.

Common examples include:

• Slip and falls caused by janitorial contractors
• Electrical injuries from negligent repair vendors
• Unsafe furniture or appliances leading to injury, which may trigger a product liability claim against the manufacturer, supplier, or retailer

When multiple parties may be responsible, our legal team at Marko Law investigates every angle—and we don’t stop until all liable entities are held accountable.

Evidence You Need to Prove a Hotel Injury Case

Photos of the Hazard or Scene

Document the area where the injury occurred. This includes:

• Wet floors without warning signs
• Broken stairs, torn carpeting, or defective railings
• Poor lighting, exposed wires, or missing safety features

Photos taken immediately after the incident are often the strongest proof of dangerous conditions.

Surveillance Footage

Most hotels have cameras in lobbies, hallways, and common areas. But footage is often deleted within days—or even hours—unless preserved quickly.

A legal notice from your attorney can force the hotel to retain and produce video evidence before it’s lost.

Witness Statements

Other guests, hotel staff, or bystanders may have seen the incident or the hazardous condition beforehand. Get names and contact information—their testimony can be key to confirming your account and proving negligence.

Incident Reports

If you reported the injury to hotel management, ask for a copy of the incident report. Even if they refuse to provide it, the report itself becomes a critical piece of internal documentation that can be obtained during litigation.

Medical Records and Expert Testimony

Medical records link the injury to the event. They also document:

• Severity of your condition
• Recommended treatment or surgery
• Long-term impact (mobility loss, pain, etc.)

Medical experts, engineers, or building code specialists may also be brought in to testify about safety violations and how the injury occurred.

Maintenance Logs and Prior Complaints

Hotels are legally responsible not just for fixing hazards—but for knowing about them. Maintenance records, inspection logs, or records of previous complaints can prove the hotel had prior knowledge and failed to act.

At Marko Law, we move quickly to secure and preserve this evidence before it disappears—because the truth matters, and your recovery depends on it.

Types of Compensation You May Be Entitled To

Economic Damages

These cover actual financial losses tied to your injury. Documentation like medical bills and pay stubs help support these claims.

• Emergency Medical Bills: Ambulance rides, ER visits, hospital stays, and diagnostics.
• Ongoing Treatment or Surgery: Follow-up care, rehabilitation, physical therapy, or required surgeries.
• Lost Income or Job Opportunities: Wages lost due to missed work, or missed contracts and gigs for self-employed victims.

Non-Economic Damages

These account for real human suffering—the kind you can’t put on a receipt, but that still deserves compensation.

• Pain and Suffering: Ongoing physical discomfort and chronic pain.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Travel or Mobility: Especially relevant for out-of-town guests or injuries affecting lifestyle.
• Emotional Distress or Trauma: Psychological impact, including anxiety, PTSD, or depression.

Special Damages

These go beyond the standard and apply in more serious or long-lasting injury cases.

• Scarring, Disfigurement, or Disability: Especially in cases involving burns, broken bones, or nerve damage.
• Loss of Consortium: When injuries affect relationships, intimacy, or shared life with a spouse or partner—particularly in catastrophic or fatal cases.

You Checked In Trusting Them. Now Let Us Hold Them Accountable.

No one plans a trip expecting to leave in an ambulance. But when a hotel fails in its basic duty to provide a safe environment, the consequences can be devastating—and costly.

If a hotel in Kent County put you at risk through unsafe conditions, poor maintenance, or negligent staff, you have the right to fight back. And you don’t have to do it alone.

At Marko Law, we act fast. We secure surveillance footage before it’s erased, gather witness statements while memories are fresh, and go head-to-head with hotel liability insurers trying to protect their bottom line—not your future.

Whether you live in Michigan or were injured while visiting, you deserve a legal team that takes your case seriously from day one. We’re here to help you recover physically, emotionally, and financially.

Contact Marko Law for a Free Case Evaluation

Phone: +1-313-777-7777
Office: 220 W. Congress, 4th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226
Website: www.markolaw.com