Is it legal for a hotel to have a ramp with a two inch step at the top of it? Last night we went for a meal to this hotel. It was raining and my went into theplace whist i locked the car,The next thing i know hes on the floor ,the chair had tipped back.
I ran in the hotel and called for help.He was very shaken.
The ramp was Dangerous!

It isn't "illegal" in the sense that its against the law but it is unsafe and I would be complaining to the management about it. Nobody was hurt badly but he was upset and shaken.

You might get the ramp fixed and some freebees out of it.

Tin

Im sure if they tell the management how unsafe it is an the chance of someone getting hurt is high which could result in a law suit, that would make them fix it fast.

Certainly make a fuss, its not illegal but law does state that 'reasonable adjustments' should be made with regards to access. Unless there is some very compelling reason this seems like a rather pointless ramp. Take photos and if its a national chain go straight to the top, ie head office. It might be worth a few free nights if nothing else.

I forgot to say that when I compained to a major hotel chain about access I got a £500 voucher in reply!

Good god, i'm sorry to hear that...That kind of thing is quite illegal in the states and the hotel would under normal circumstances, would be subject to a huge lawsuit as a result. Was he alright?

It is not right. If this is in the UK you would be able to sue for the Tort of Negligence on the grounds that the Hotel owed you a duty of care to provide a safe entry and exit to their premises.

However, any compensation awarded would have to be in proportion to the injury suffered as a result.

The hotel should get it fixed and perhaps your "threat" of this kind of suit may motivate them to fix the fault.

Good Luck

This happened on Sunday night.It is now Tuesday.Is it to late to do anything? The hotel where this happened is only 4 miles away from our home. We only went there for a meal.

My husband was not injured, but badly shaken.He has a big lump on the back of his head, he was very lucky he didnt break anything.

I ran into the Hotel and got help from the kitchen staff, but didnt get there names. I could go back and take photos of the ramp,and get the names of the people who helped.These were whitnesses.

yes do it, photos are great. make sure you make a note of the time it happened. Your husband might want to go and see his gp just to document the bump, but also lets me honest you cant be too careful with heads. Its certainly not too late to complain.

Irene -

As Lucy says, be extremely careful with head injury, no matter how small. I'm on a lifetime regimen of Coumadin and got chewed out bigtime the other day because I didn't go the ER after I crashed my w/c and broke my hip.

No it is not to late. There is a 3 year time limit on suits like this. You need to have legal representation. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can arrange for you to have a free consultation with a solicitor. They should be your first port of call.

Hi,
it should be a simple change to the ramp. Yes, photos would be good but you should go to the top. The people working there can sympathize but probably won't end up doing much. All it may take is a strip of ply or aluminium and they may be grateful you picked it up (as well as your partner by the sound) for them. Hope he's OK.