If I recently stayed in a hotel that caught fire due to lighting and lost my belongings but have no insurance, is there anything I can do legally to be compensated?
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If I recently stayed in a hotel that caught fire due to lighting and lost my belongings but have no insurance, is there anything I can do legally to be compensated?
The entire roof collapsed, burning the entire floor. All my property was damaged or burned during the fire. The hotel did not reimburse any of the victims for any of their property or even for their stay. They recommended we contact our homeowner’s or renter’s insurers. However, I am not enrolled in any of those services.
Asked on July 9, 2015 under Business Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
IF you believe (and more importantly, believe you can prove) that the hotel was at fault in causing the fire or allowing it to spread (maybe an employee carelessly tossed a cigarette; or maybe the hotel didn't have the sprinklers it should have had to contain a fire; etc.), you could sue the hotel for the value of your belongings. You have to prove fault to get compensation; a hotel is not required to pay for guests' damaged or destroyed goods unless the hotel was at fautl in some way.
However, the hotel is not at fault for lightning--they don't cause it or control it. So unless you can prove that the loss of your belongings was because the hotel was deficient in something to do with preventing, slowing, or minimizing fires--such as sprinklers or fire doors--they would not owe you any compensation.
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