The holidays mean spending time with friends and families and coming together. For some visiting family means driving across town, or maybe even down the street. But for many the holiday season may mean traveling long-distances and needing hotel accommodations.
A holiday travel survey done this year found that 4 out of 10 respondents would be traveling this holiday season [1]. This means that millions of Americans will either be hitting the road or airports during the season. Many of the top travel destinations for the winter break include warmer places like Florida, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Hawaii, as well as New York [2]
When traveling during the Holidays, it is important to be prepared for extreme weather conditions. The first step is to make sure your car is in working order and all the safety features are functioning. In addition, it is a good idea to keep an emergency kit in the car in case you are stranded or stuck. The following are useful:
- Jumper cables
- Blankets
- Ice scraper
- Kitty litter/sand
- A cellphone
- Antifreeze
- Snow Shovel or broom
- Flashlight
- Chains if not equipped with snow tires.
A blanket may be one of the most useful items on this list and can be helpful if your car cannot start or if your heater stops working. Always plan ahead if you are going on a long trip and check weather reports ahead of time. Avoid driving in hazardous conditions, but if you must, remember to slow down to account for your decreased visibility. If you begin driving and the weather worsens, it is best to pull over and find a place to stay until the weather gets better
Nevada Hotel and Casino Safety
When we consider travel safety, we often focus on getting to our destination. However, your risk of injury is not limited to travel, and is very present when we reach our destination. Hotel Injuries are common, especially since travelers are in unfamiliar locations and are not aware of the subtleties we get used to when at home. Hotel injuries come in varying degrees from a slip and fall to one of the most tragic being when a gunman fired into a crowd of concertgoers from a Las Vegas hotel. This incident left fifty-eight dead and 1000 injured. [3] Another hotel injury in Nevada was when a window washer outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas took a fatal fall in 2018. While no hotel guest was hurt in the incident, it posed as a risk to any pedestrian and created a potential danger to the guests.
While these are more serious hotel injuries, there are some more minor accidents that occur in hotel rooms:
- Slipping in the Shower: It is easy to slip and fall in the shower, even at home. Being in an unfamiliar bathroom can increase your chance of making a clumsy mistake and falling
- Slipping In Hotel Common areas like the Spa Area, Lobby, or Pool
- Drowning in the Hotel Pool
- Falling Down poorly lit stairs
- Elevator or Escalator Accidents— About 6,000 people are injured on an escalator yearly and an average of 27 people are killed on an elevator per year according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. [4]
- Broken Tables, Chairs, or Bed
- Bed Bugs or Unhygienic practices
- Food Poisoning— Caused by food purchased in the hotel dining area
- Burns caused by fire, hot water, irons, or chemicals
- Assault
If you have experienced any of the listed, seek immediate medical help. Contact an experienced Nevada personal injury attorney that can help you understand the situation and your rights. Injured guests may be compensated for lost wages, physical pain, medical expenses, and potentially even death.