I Was Injured at a Business Conference. Who’s Responsible?

February 11, 2019

Indianapolis is no stranger to conferences of all types, and business conferences are no exception. Year after year, our city hosts events for businesses large and small, and if you’re participating in any of them, falling victim to undue injury is probably not at the forefront of your mind.

But what if you are injured at a business conference? Who’s responsible in that case? Naturally, there are some contributing factors in figuring out what the specific answer is in your specific case. Let’s explore some of these intricacies, and if you’re still not sure about your case, feel free to contact us.

Reasonable Care

Any time you’re a guest under a premises owner’s roof for an event they’ve put on—or an extended stay in some form of lodging—you fall under the “invitee” role in any premises liability case.

What does this mean?

Simply put: when you’re an invited guest under a business’s roof, you’re entitled to the level of protection that will ensure your safety and well-being while you’re under the care of the owner. For instance, hotels bear the obligation to keep their guests safe, and they carry this out by maintaining a secure premises and cleaning guest rooms regularly.

But if the owners fail to keep their end of the “invitee” bargain by neglecting to stop potentially hazardous situations from escalating, and you’re injured as a result, then the owners themselves can be culpable for your injury.

Reasonable Culpability

With that in mind, it’s important to note what makes the difference in a venue being responsible for your injury and not.

Hypothetically speaking, if you were injured in an exhibit hall as a result of an individual vendor or showcase’s own negligence, then culpability would fall to that vendor. In this case, the exhibitor takes on the liability, since, in most scenarios, exhibit operators assume responsibility for their own area.

Thus, the conference center would likely not be responsible in any way.

However, if the same exhibit hall has poor upkeep, or if the floor has an obvious, potentially hazardous spill, and the conference center staff do nothing to fix these issues, then they carry the weight of liability. If you’re injured in a similar situation, the defendant in that context will likely be the premises owners themselves.

These distinctions are important because you, as the plaintiff, must make a case based on the reasonable observation that you were not responsible for your own injury. And in a premises liability case, it must be reasonable that the premises itself could have prevented any injury that struck you.

And in certain situations, specifically at the Indianapolis Convention Center, it’s possible that the city of Indianapolis itself bears some responsibility if the event itself was city-sponsored, or if a neglectful employee in question was municipal personnel.

Help from an Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

You shouldn’t have to go about your day-to-day business ventures wondering what will happen to you if you’re injured at a convention. If you or someone you know has faced this situation or something similar, Hensley Legal Group may be able to help. Call us today or contact us online for a free conversation about your claim. Our Indianapolis personal injury lawyers are here to help.