Despite multiple warning from a man’s family that he was at risk of harming himself while staying at a Motel 6, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals held that employees had no duty to take reasonable steps to prevent his suicide.
The state has previously held that innkeepers do have a special duty to their guests and have some duty to take reasonable steps to prevent certain types of harm, such as maintaining an adequate security system to prevent a guest from being stabbed by an intruder, as held in Fund v. Hotel Lenox of Boston (1994), and taking reasonable steps to protect a guest from assault by another guest, as decided in McFadden v. Bancroft Hotel (1943), as well as Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm §40(b)(2).
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
