South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A restaurant at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood had a minor emergency in mid-November that could have been a major one. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the restaurant was evacuated at about 9 a.m. after a strong smell of gas was reported. Firefighters responding to the scene found that a pilot light at the restaurant was out, which means that natural gas was leaking into the building, filling a large area with a highly flammable gas. This can cause an explosion if the gas is exposed to any source of ignition, even something as small as a cigarette lighter or sparks from faulty wiring. Luckily, the area was evacuated and the gas company was able to fix the problem before anyone was hurt.

The folks who run this restaurant are lucky twice over -- once that the problem was fixed before someone was hurt, and again that it happened so early in the day, before the restaurant could fill with customers. Florida businesses that are open to the public (and private homes with invited guests) have a legal obligation to their customers to maintain a safe environment, or warn visitors about hazards. If they fail in that obligation, by creating unsafe situations or letting safety problems slide, customers and visitors who get hurt have a right to sue them. This is called a premises liability lawsuit, and it applies even when the business didn't know about the problem, but reasonably should have known.

I can only imagine the number of Florida premises liability lawsuits that could be filed against a business that failed to detect or take care of a gas leak in a busy area, causing hundreds of people to be wrongfully killed or very seriously burned in an explosion. But premises liability also applies when someone is hurt in less extreme situations -- a slip down the stairs, holes in the floor during construction or a staircase without a handrail. In some cases, a business or landlord that fails to anticipate and protect visitors from violent crime might also be liable for their injuries under the same laws.

A premises liability lawsuit can help you secure money for your medical bills, wages you lose because of an injury and even compensation for your pain and emotional trauma. If you have been hurt outside your home by dangers that you believe your host could have and should have taken care of, you may be able to make a claim. To learn more about your legal options, please contact my firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, for a free consultation.