If my 2 year old daughter found a condom in a hotel conference room and put it in her mouth, can we sue the hotel?
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If my 2 year old daughter found a condom in a hotel conference room and put it in her mouth, can we sue the hotel?
Now, she has to go through long term HIV testing and it has been extremely stressful on us.
Asked on September 28, 2012 under Personal Injury, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You might have a case against the hotel--it depends upon where she found the condom in the room. The hotel is expected to clean its rooms; but it is only expected to perform a "reasonable" cleaning. If the condom was someplace that a normal cleaning would have found it, then the hotel would have been negligent in not removing it, which could create a basis for liability; but if the condom, were, say, underneath a bureau or wardrobe, where nobody expects the staff to clean every time, then the hotel did nothing wrong and would not be liable.
Another issue: you can't recover for your stress in a case like this--negligence does not allow recovery for emotional stress or distress. Therefore, if your daughter is hopefully ok, all you could recover is the cost of the medical testing, which may or may not be worth filing a lawsuit.
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