Whether you’re on personal holiday or taking a business trip, getting injured is the last thing you expect to happen. Unfortunately, thousands of travelers are injured every year. Slips, falls, and even intentional acts happen. And when they do, it’s important to figure out who to hold responsible.
Simply walking away isn’t always the right move, especially when your injuries are severe or you’ve incurred expensive medical bills. But figuring out who to hold responsible may not be as easy as it seems.
Here’s the best way to make that determination.
1. Contact a lawyer
Your first move should always be to contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your situation. A lawyer will know how to find potential responsible parties based on the details of your case.
Regardless of how or where your injury occurred, the complexities of responsibility are best sorted by a lawyer. With that said, let’s look at some of the more specific places injuries take place and how liability might be determined.
2. Airline liability
There are several factors to consider when an injury takes place at an airport. For example, airlines have legal duties under treaties (like the Montreal Convention) and domestic aviation law. They are required to ensure passenger safety during check-in, boarding, deplaning, and on the flight. If they fail to meet their obligations, they can be held liable.
Airline liability extends to escalators, walkways, and even baggage claim areas. But responsibility may not be limited to the airline. It could also extend to a contracted vendor, depending on who controls the area where the accident occurred.
To win a case against an airline, you need to show that the airline should have seen the risk and taken steps to mitigate it. For example, issues like missing wet floor signs and crowded overhead bins can be used to prove negligence.
3. Hotel and accommodation providers
When your injury happens in a hotel room, lobby, pool area, or walkway, the property is usually the first person to look at in terms of responsibility. Hotels and resorts owe guests a duty to keep premises reasonably safe, warn of known dangerous conditions, and inspect for hidden hazards. If they fail to live up to this duty, they can be held liable.
When faced with a lawsuit, hotels usually argue that certain hazards are “open and obvious” like a raised threshold. However, that defense is weakened if the danger is subtle or in poor lighting.
If you get attacked by someone on hotel grounds, even in the parking lot or hallway, the hotel might be liable under negligent security doctrine if prior incidents or warnings existed and the hotel failed to act.
And while it’s common for hotels to include clauses that waive liability for guest injuries, they’re not always valid. Since hotels have direct control over maintenance, design, lighting, and security, injuries that happen on their property are usually strong claims. However, they often receive pushback and result in shared fault.
4. Tour operators and travel companies
The people who package your trip (tour companies, cruise lines, etc.) can sometimes be held liable for injuries, but it’s not black and white. For example, when you book a bundled package like a flight with a hotel and transportation, the tour operator is typically responsible for booking you safe services. If there are defects in the services provided, the organizer can be held responsible.
Tour companies have a duty to select safe vendors for travel services and if they select a vendor with known safety hazards – or fail to vet the vendor – that can be considered negligence.
It’s not easy to win a claim against a tour operator or trip organizer, but if there’s clear liability, your lawyer will handle it for you.
5. Local activity providers
Local businesses that offer activities like scuba diving, zip lining, boat rentals, bus transfers, and day tours can be held responsible for injuries. These providers directly operate the activity, so they have a duty to maintain their equipment, train staff, secure the premises, and warn you of any inherent risks.
Theme parks are sued all the time for injuries and deaths. For example, a family won a $205 million judgment after their six-year-old was killed at Glenwood Adventure Park in 2021. Another family was awarded $310 million after their teenage son fell to his death at Icon Park in Orlando. And these aren’t isolated cases – theme parks have been getting sued for decades over injuries and deaths.
The liability maze is best navigated with a lawyer
When you’re injured while traveling, there may not be a clear answer about who is responsible, and that’s why it’s important to contact a lawyer right away. A skilled attorney will know how to pinpoint legal responsibility and get you the compensation you deserve.
Last Updated on April 30, 2026
