If you slipped and fell at a hotel, you’ve probably already heard the line: “It was an accident.”
Florida law does not accept that as the end of the story.
Florida asks one core question:
Did the hotel know about the dangerous condition—or should it have known—and fail to fix it or warn guests?
That is the proof problem. This guide shows how Florida law evaluates that question, using real hotel scenarios and the specific evidence courts and insurers look for.
If you want to talk through what happened, Stabinski Law offers free consultations, no fee unless there’s a recovery, and direct access to an attorney (not a call center). We have the experience you need on your side for hotel injury cases. Se habla español.
Florida Hotel Slip-and-Fall Claims: The Essentials
What you must prove
- A dangerous condition existed (such as water, a spill, slick residue, or another hazard).
- The hotel had actual notice (it knew) or constructive notice (it should have known).
- The hotel failed to take reasonable steps to fix the hazard or warn guests.
- The hazard caused your fall and resulting injuries.
Florida’s notice rule
In many slip-and-fall cases involving substances on the floor, Florida law requires proof that the hotel had actual or constructive knowledge under Florida Statute § 768.0755.
Evidence that usually matters most
- Surveillance video from 30–60 minutes before the fall
- Photos showing track marks, footprints, spread patterns, residue, or recurring leaks
- Work orders, inspection logs, housekeeping schedules, and incident reports
- Witness names (both guests and employees)
- Preserved shoes/clothing and prompt medical documentation
What to Do Immediately After a Hotel Slip-and-Fall
The first hours matter. In hotel cases, video gets overwritten, and conditions get fixed quickly. These steps are about preserving proof.
- Report the fall and note cameras: Notify staff, get the incident report number, and ask where cameras cover the area.
- Photograph the scene: Capture the hazard, footprints or track marks, lighting and glare, mats or warning signs, and any ceiling stains or drip lines.
- Get witness information: Collect names and contact details for guests or employees who saw the hazard or the fall.
- Preserve shoes and clothing: Do not clean or discard what you were wearing. Bag it and keep it unchanged.
- Get medical care and explain the cause: Tell providers you slipped and fell at a hotel and describe what caused it.
- Write a same-day timeline: Note the time, location, weather, lighting, staff statements, and what you felt underfoot.
The Legal Framework Florida Uses in Hotel Slip and Fall Cases
Hotels owe guests a duty of reasonable care
Hotels invite the public onto their property, charge for rooms, and profit from guest traffic. Under Florida law, that creates a duty to act reasonably—maintaining walkways, addressing hazards within a reasonable time, and warning guests when a danger can’t be fixed immediately.
This does not mean hotels guarantee no one will ever fall. It means they cannot ignore predictable risks and later claim surprise when someone is injured.
Florida’s transitory foreign substance rule controls many hotel falls
Many hotel slip-and-falls involve something temporary on the floor: water, spilled drinks, food, cleaning solution, or tracked-in rain. Florida law calls these transitory foreign substances.
When a case involves a transitory foreign substance, Florida Statute § 768.0755 applies. The statute requires the injured person to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and failed to act. Full statute here:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/0768.0755
This is why hotel slip-and-fall cases do not turn on “the floor was wet.” They turn on notice.
Notice is the real fight
Courts and insurers focus on three questions:
- Did the hotel know the hazard existed?
- If not, should it have discovered it through reasonable inspections and routines?
- Once it knew or should have known, did it fix the problem or warn guests?
If you can prove notice, the hotel’s defenses narrow quickly. Without notice evidence, even serious injuries are often dismissed as bad luck.
How Florida Law Measures a Hotel’s Knowledge of a Hazard
Florida law gives you two ways to prove a hotel was negligent after a slip and fall: actual notice and constructive notice. Both come from Florida Statute § 768.0755.
Every successful hotel slip-and-fall case fits into at least one of these paths. The difference is how the hotel’s knowledge gets proven.
Actual notice means the hotel knew the dangerous condition existed before the fall and failed to address it. That knowledge can come from staff observation, guest complaints, prior repairs, or internal records showing the issue was already on the hotel’s radar.
In real hotel cases, actual notice often shows up as:
- Water tracked from the pool into an indoor hallway, mentioned to the front desk, but left unmanaged
- A ceiling or AC leak dripping onto carpet near elevators where maintenance has been called before
- A freshly mopped floor left unattended with no warning sign
- Housekeeping spotting a spill, leaving to get supplies, and leaving the area open
The proof usually comes from what the hotel created or recorded, not just what it later claims. Common sources include:
- Guest complaint logs or front desk notes
- Maintenance work orders and repair tickets
- Prior incident reports involving the same area
- Internal emails or messages
- Surveillance video showing staff seeing or stepping around the hazard
- Employee admissions during testimony
Once actual notice is established, the “we didn’t know” defense largely disappears.
Constructive notice applies when the hotel says it had no direct knowledge but the hazard existed in a way that reasonable hotel practices should have caught. Florida law allows constructive notice to be proven in two ways: the condition existed long enough that it should have been discovered, or it occurred with such regularity that it was foreseeable under § 768.0755.
Time-based constructive notice focuses on how long the hazard was present, even if no one admits seeing it. Courts allow this to be proven through circumstantial clues such as:
- Footprints or track marks through a puddle or spill
- A wide spread suggesting gradual buildup
- Drying edges or sticky residue that appears walked through
- Dirt or debris mixed into liquid
That timeline is usually supported by surveillance video, photos, witness statements, or inspection logs showing long gaps between checks. The question isn’t whether the hazard existed for hours—it’s whether it existed long enough that reasonable monitoring should have caught it.
Regularity-based constructive notice is often even stronger. Regularity means the same hazard keeps happening in the same place in a way the hotel can predict and manage. Common examples include:
- Pool-to-lobby tracking through the same corridor day after day
- Repeated AC or plumbing leaks affecting one hallway
- Ice machines that routinely create puddles during busy periods
- Entryways that become slick every time it rains due to inconsistent mat placement
Proof of regularity often comes from:
- Repeated work orders or maintenance records for the same location
- Prior incident reports or claims tied to that area
- Housekeeping schedules requiring frequent drying
- Vendor maintenance logs
- Employee testimony like, “That spot always gets wet”
The bottom line is simple: actual notice shows the hotel knew; constructive notice shows it should have known. Either can establish negligence. Both are proven through evidence that focuses on knowledge, time, and predictability—not just the fact that a fall occurred.
What Florida Courts Look for When Hotels Claim “No Notice”
Most hotel slip-and-fall cases never reach trial, but Florida court decisions still matter because they show what proof actually works—and what causes cases to get dismissed early.
When a hotel says it had “no notice,” courts are not persuaded by general safety policies or after-the-fact explanations. They look for specific facts showing either that the hazard was there long enough to be discovered or that it happened often enough to be predictable. Without one of those, courts are willing to end a case before a jury ever hears it.
That point is clearly established in Pembroke Lakes Mall Ltd. v. McGruder. The court explained that it’s not enough to prove there was a substance on the floor. There must be evidence demonstrating how long it was there or why the business should have expected it.
Hotels often try to avoid responsibility by claiming the hazard appeared moments before the fall. Florida courts take a hard look at that defense. In Lago v. Costco Wholesale Corp., the court examined whether the “just happened” claim was supported by the evidence, or whether details such as the condition of the substance and the activity in the area suggested the hazard had been present longer.
The same theme appears in Oliver v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., where the court focused on whether the injured person produced real evidence showing duration or repetition, rather than assumptions about what the store should have known.
Although these cases involve retail stores, the analysis applies directly to hotels because Florida Statute § 768.0755 applies to all business establishments, including hotels. The bottom line is simple: courts care about proof, not excuses. Video, records, witness statements, and visible clues about the floor’s condition defeat a “no notice” defense. Without that kind of evidence, even serious injuries can go nowhere.
Evidence That Helps Prove a Hotel Was Negligent
In a Florida hotel slip-and-fall case, evidence matters only if it helps prove notice—that the hotel knew about the hazard or should have known and failed to act. The following types of evidence are commonly used to establish negligence:
- Surveillance video: Video often provides the clearest proof of notice. It can show how long the hazard has existed, whether employees walked past it, whether cleaning was performed without warning, or whether the same area repeatedly becomes wet. Footage from 30–60 minutes before the fall, along with nearby angles showing staff activity, is often critical.
- Maintenance and inspection records: These records can show the hotel’s prior knowledge of the hazard. Work orders, repair tickets, and inspection logs may reveal repeated complaints, recurring problems in the same location, or inspection gaps that make the hazard foreseeable. Policies alone don’t prove reasonable care—actual records do.
- Incident reports and internal communications: Internal reports may contain early acknowledgments of the condition, staff observations, or descriptions that demonstrate the hotel was aware of the risk before or immediately after the fall.
- Witness statements (guests and employees): Witnesses help establish time and regularity. Statements such as “I saw it earlier,” “I told the front desk,” or “that area is always wet” directly support notice.
- Photos of the scene: Photos can document how long the hazard was present by showing footprints, track marks, spread patterns, lighting issues, missing mats, or warning signs. Ceiling stains or drip lines can indicate a recurring leak.
- Shoes and clothing: Preserved footwear and clothing can rebut claims that the fall was caused by improper shoes and may retain residue consistent with what was on the floor, supporting the hazard’s nature.
- Medical records: Prompt medical treatment and consistent descriptions of how the fall occurred help link the injury to the hazard and reinforce credibility when notice is disputed.
The key point: negligence is proven by showing knowledge, time, or predictability. Evidence that supports one or more of those factors is what defeats a hotel’s “no notice” defense.
In real life, “should have known” usually shows up through common-sense clues, such as:
- Water that looks like it was already there when you walked in
- Pooling tied to slow drainage or a bad slope
- Residue or slick areas that build up over time
- Missing mats where people naturally step out of the shower
- A leak that keeps feeding the same wet spot
- The same wet pattern appears again and again in the same place
When Getting Legal Help Actually Makes a Difference After a Hotel Fall
Not every slip and fall needs a lawyer. But in Florida hotel cases, a legal review can matter a lot when the outcome turns on notice, and notice turns on evidence that disappears quickly.
It’s usually worth talking to a lawyer if any of the following apply:
- Surveillance video likely exists, especially in lobbies, hallways, elevators, or common areas
- The hazard looks recurring, such as tracked-in water, repeated leaks, or known slick zones
- The hotel is already claiming “no notice” or refusing to preserve records
- You needed imaging, follow-up care, or specialist treatment
- You hit your head, or symptoms worsened hours or days later
Strong hotel slip-and-fall cases aren’t built on assumptions or sympathy. They’re built on proof that the hotel knew—or should have known—about a dangerous condition and failed to act. The earlier the proof is identified and preserved, the easier it is to determine whether the hotel crossed the legal line.
Talk to Stabinski Law About Your Case
Stabinski Law handles hotel slip-and-fall cases across South Florida. When you reach out, you speak directly with an attorney—not a call center.
- Free consultations
- No fee unless there’s a recovery
- Bilingual support (se habla español)
If you want answers, call or message us. We’ll walk through what happened, explain how Florida’s notice rules apply to your situation, and tell you—plainly—what evidence matters most and whether the case is worth pursuing.
