I was on vacation and stayed in a PA motel. When I returned to my room, someone was in my room and I was assaulted and robbed. Can I sue the motel?

A:

Yes, if we can prove that the motel was negligent.  In Pennsylvania, hotel owners can be held responsible for security breaches when they knew or should have known about the dangers or risks to their guests.  Hotels and motels have a legal duty to protect their guests from criminal harm caused by accidental, negligent or intentional acts of another party.  However, the harm has to be foreseeable.

For example, if prior to your assault, there were other break-ins to rooms due to faulty locks that the motel knew about but did nothing to change the locks, you may be able bring a claim against the motel because your incident was foreseeable.  The motel breached its duty to protect a guest from harm because it knew the locks were faulty and did nothing to rectify the situation.

Related PA & NJ Security Breach Legal Articles:

• PA Hotel's Liability When Guests Are Injured Due to Security Breach or Negligent Security (Part A)
• PA Hotel's Liability When Guests Are Injured Due to Security Breach or Negligent Security (Part B)
• What You Should Know About Staying at a Hotel in New Jersey - How to Ensure Peace of Mind

by Daniel J. O'Brien [email protected]