The state of Florida is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country. With that, in addition to large hotel and motel chains, many residential homeowners often turn their property into a vacation rental for part of the year to earn a passive income. They may do this through third-party online platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo. Well, if you choose to stay at one of these rental properties, there may be a higher risk of posed dangers than at an established hotel or motel company. If this is true for you, please continue reading to learn whether you can sue if your injury happened during your stay at a vacation rental and how one of the experienced Panama City slip & fall accident attorneys at Manuel & Thompson, PA can help you handle this claim appropriately.
Do vacation rental companies have liability coverage?
Returning to the most popular online vacation rental systems, Airbnb and Vrbo, these companies offer liability coverage options. Specifically, both companies offer their unique versions of a $1 million liability coverage insurance program. With this, a homeowner, otherwise referred to as a host, may be protected up to this amount for claims from welcomed visitors, otherwise known as guests, who incur bodily injuries or cause property damage during their scheduled stay.
However, you must understand that, just like any other insurance program, there are limitations to this coverage. That is, this compensation may not apply if a homeowner is found to be negligent. That is, if they failed to identify potentially hazardous conditions and maintain a safe property before guests check in for their vacation. And then, if one of the guests encounters this hazard and promptly enters an accident, gets injured, and damages their personal property, the homeowner’s property, or a neighbor’s property.
Am I able to sue if my injury happened at a vacation rental?
To reiterate, a pivotal element to your accident event and subsequent bodily injury is that the homeowner or host of the vacation rental must have acted negligently in one way or another. If you have substantial means of proving this, you may proceed with your lawsuit against them. If you are successful in your legal claim, the property owner may have to pay out-of-pocket for your claimed economic and non-economic damages. This may include your medical bills, lost wages, physical pain and emotional suffering, and more.
A primary component of your collected evidence is having official reports of your accident and injury. This means calling local law enforcement to the vacation rental immediately following your accident. But also, messaging the host through the Airbnb or Vrbo platform, along with filing a complaint with the company’s customer support. The first step toward preparing yourself for this legal action is to retain the services of one of the skilled Panama City slip & fall accident attorneys. Look no further than Manuel & Thompson, PA.
