Hotel Property Faces $4M Lawsuit After Boat Accident Injures Employee

You can imagine the scene: It’s the end of a long and hardworking summer season for managers at a trendy hotel on New York’s Shelter Island. They decide to celebrate by taking a friend’s fishing boat over to one of the local restaurants. On the way back, one of the managers at the helm of the boat, after drinking too much, crashes into the dock at the hotel property. A colleague gets injured in the boat accident with two broken bones in her leg, leaving her unable to properly walk since the accident occurred last September. The hotel is hit with a $4 million lawsuit as the accident occurred on its property – even though the employees were not working and the hotel did not own the boat.

The message is loud and clear here for hotel owners and the need for a proper insurance program that includes General Liability and Umbrella & Excess Liability insurance. Even with all the precautions and risk management strategies in place to keep a property safe, including its employees, there are situations out of a hotel’s control and unanticipated that can land it in the middle of a lawsuit.