Baltimore, MD asked in Civil Litigation, Criminal Law and Personal Injury for Maryland

Q: Can I sue a hotel if me and another family members medications and money were stolen from our room?

I was on vacation out of state and a family member realized her things were rummaged through when we came back from an event and items were missing. I noticed my medication and money was gone the next day when I went to take them. This happened in South Carolina and I live in Baltimore. The hotel has been dragging their feet with investigating. They referred us to their insurance company but we have not heard anything from them. This occurred August 5-6.

I'm not sure which category this would fall under or which attorney to contact.

1 Lawyer Answer
Lee Eidelberg
Lee Eidelberg
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Towson, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: The simple answer to the question of whether you can sue the hotel is "yes." However your need an attorney admitted to practice in SC and evidence that the hotel's staff was negligent in some manner. Presumably, the doors to the rooms lock automatically upon exiting the room so that any purported theft occurred while the room was unlocked while being cleaned by staff. Practically speaking, the amount of the actual loss may well discourage an attorney from taking on the case, because the legal fees associated with pursuing a suit would far exceed the possible recovery. Thus, you may be left with simply trying to harangue the insurance carrier to reimburse you for losses you can establish resulted from a theft from your room.

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