Resort Torts (resort injuries) encompass almost every aspect of personal injury litigation. Resort Torts are personal injury cases for negligent or criminal acts that occur in a resort, vacation, travel or recreational setting. These may involve aspects of hotel and motel safety, cruise ship litigation, pleasure boating and jet ski incidents, amusement park and theme park liability, aquatic, diving and swimming incidents, foreign travel and medical emergencies, gaming and casinos, aviation, rental car liability, moped, bicycle and motorcycle safety, buses and tour guides, travel industry liability for crime victims, and medical care provided to vacationers.
Resort Torts can encompass a vast array of types of cases, but they all have one thing in common: tourists, business travelers and locals alike are all exposed to risk while traveling, vacationing or engaging in resort or pleasure activities.
Because Florida is a resort destination, and due in large part to our year-round climate that encourages resort activities, these injuries occur with great frequency here. Tourists by their very nature are less attentive to dangers because they are in a strange place and are focused on enjoying the surroundings. Because of their lack of familiarity and awareness of risks that would be otherwise known to the proprietors of certain businesses, tourists are easy targets. As a result, in Florida innkeepers owe guests a high duty of care in providing them protection.
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With 82 million visitors each year, Florida is a tourist haven. There must be places to house these visitors and facilities to entertain and amuse them. The travel and resort industry has responded, and Florida is flush with places to stay and things to do. The draw to the state includes 1,200 miles of sandy beaches and over 8,000 lakes. Yet there are hazards hidden from tourists, who are usually on vacation and unaware of the dangers they face. These hazards can include premises liabilities such as trip and falls, violent crime/negligent security, defective premises design or layout, defective products, transportation negligence (plane crashes, car crashes, boating mishaps), medical malpractice, cruise ship injuries and many other types of dangers.
Some examples of Resort Torts include the following types of cases:
Transportation
Boating and Water Sports
Our experience with parasailing tragedies and fighting for regulation of this industry:
Entertainment
Lodging/Innkeeper Liability
Examples of cases in which Leighton Panoff Law lawyers have represented clients against hotels/resorts/amusement and theme parks:
Examples of cases in which Leighton Panoff Law lawyers have represented clients in cruise ship and/or boating cases:
Mr. Leighton frequently lectures on Resort, Travel and Vacation injuries across Florida and the country, and has provided overviews to members of the legal and business community at the Hotel Intercontinental in Miami at the inaugural Resort Tort Roundtable sponsored by the Miami Daily Business Review. This was followed by the hugely successful Resort Torts: Vacation, Resort and Recreational Liability seminars in Orlando (sponsored by the Orange County Bar Association) and Miami (sponsored by the Daily Business Review). This year our education programs provided lawyers with 5.5 hours of continuing legal education credit (including 4 hours for board certification).
Mr. Leighton also speaks on resort and vacation injuries throughout the United States to other trial lawyers and the general public. Mr. Leighton’s Resort Tort seminars are presented several times a year throughout the State of Florida to lawyers and members of the business communities. These annual seminars take place in Miami and Orlando and feature updates on developments in the field of resort, vacation and recreational litigation.
Mr. Leighton is a founding member of the Resort Tort Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice and has been a leader in this emerging field. As Chairman of the American Trial Lawyer’s Inadequate Security Litigation Group, President-elect of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, and author of the book Litigating Premises Security Cases, Mr. Leighton brings his skills in premises liability and violent crime litigation to each Resort Tort/vacation injury case he handles. Considered one of the best resort injury lawyers in Florida, Mr. Leighton is often hired by other lawyers from around the country to consult on their cases or represent their clients.
Leighton’s recent article, “How To Improve Parasailing Safety Through Economic Disincentives,” South Florida Legal Guide, Vol. 14 No. 2, was picked up by several news organizations and is being used to model safety legislation to help prevent future parasailing tragedies.
John Leighton fought for passage of the first law in the United States regulating the parasailing industry. Although Florida’s parasailing safety law falls short of what we believe would provide true protection for visitors, it is the first step toward minimizing injuries in an otherwise unregulated industry.
Mr. Leighton regularly authors articles about resort and vacation safety. These include tips on avoiding injury and death while vacationing, cruise ship and boating safety, theme park accidents, travel injuries and how to protect your family while enjoying a vacation in Florida. Most recently his article entitled “Ten Tips to Avoid a Deadly Vacation: Surviving Resorts, Cruise Ships and Hotels is No Accident” was published in the South Florida Legal Guide.
The resort and vacation industry in Florida has a strong lobby. Because Florida is a such a vacation destination it takes aggressive, skilled lawyers to overcome some of the hurdles thrown in the path of victims of negligence, especially those which are the fault of the resort or amusement provider. Mr. Leighton routinely litigates cases against high profile resort and hospitality defendants such as Disney, Hilton, Westin, Marriott, Universal and others. Mr. Leighton’s verdict against Disney in the case of Allocco v. Walt Disney is one of many wins on behalf of our clients and against themes parks and the large Florida resort industry. That commitment to the public continues today.
With offices in Miami and Orlando, the firm continues to lead the fight for enhanced safety for visitors to Florida and those traveling for both leisure and business. Our offices span the state to provide our clients with the highest quality aggressive legal representation. Leighton Panoff Law represents clients against the state’s theme parks, amusements, hotels, resorts, cruise lines, taxi companies and recreational providers.
Click here for examples of our pending and finalized resort tort/vacation injury cases.
Disclaimer: The information about past verdicts and settlements of the firm’s cases are based on the unique facts of each case. These amounts reflect the gross recovery in each case (before attorneys fees, expenses and medical costs are deducted). Although these results were obtained by our firm, they may not indicate the success or value of any other case as each case is unique. By clicking on Verdicts and Settlements you are acknowledging that every case is different and each case must be evaluated on its own merits. The information contained here has not been reviewed or approved by The Florida Bar.
Resort Torts are personal injury cases for negligent or criminal acts that occur in a resort, vacation, travel or recreational setting. They encompass almost every aspect of personal injury litigation, including hotel and motel safety, cruise ship litigation, boating and jet ski incidents, amusement park liability, aquatic and diving injuries, foreign travel and emergencies, casinos, aviation, rental car liability, and more. Tourists, business travelers, and locals alike are exposed to risk while traveling or engaging in pleasure activities, and Resort Torts address the legal consequences of these preventable injuries.
Because Florida is a resort destination, and due in large part to our year-round climate that encourages resort activities, these injuries occur with great frequency. Tourists are often less attentive to dangers because they are in a strange place and focused on enjoying the surroundings. Their lack of familiarity makes them easy targets. With 82 million visitors annually, the state’s hospitality industry has a high duty of care, and when that duty is breached, resort injuries can result from hazards that are hidden or ignored.
Resort Torts can include trip and falls, violent crime or negligent security, defective premises design or layout, transportation negligence such as plane or car crashes, boating mishaps, medical malpractice, cruise ship injuries, defective products, and many other dangers. They may arise from activities like diving, parasailing, jet skiing, or even walking through hotel grounds. These incidents all share one theme: harm that occurs in connection with resort, travel, or vacation-related experiences where visitors are often unfamiliar with the environment and trust others to ensure their safety.
Examples of cases Leighton Panoff Law lawyers have handled include hot coffee spilled by a waitress at a theme park, slip and falls on wet marble hotel floors, wrongful death due to a gas leak in a Dominican Republic resort, obstruction-related trip and fall at a hotel entrance, sexual assaults on hotel property, inadequate lighting at motels leading to assaults, and outdoor stairway falls. These incidents all involved premises or employee negligence, and the firm pursued aggressive legal action to secure compensation for the victims and their families.
Leighton Panoff Law has represented clients in cases involving the wrongful death of a scuba diver on a cruise excursion, death from parasailing, jet ski crashes, slip and falls in cruise spas and pool decks, traumatic brain injuries, electrocution on boat lifts, sexual assaults by crew members, and fatal medical negligence. In one case, a passenger was struck in the dining room by a snapped mooring line. The firm has litigated against major cruise lines, addressing serious injuries and deaths that occurred while passengers expected safe and enjoyable vacations.
John Leighton fought for passage of the first law in the United States regulating the parasailing industry. The law requires liability insurance and basic standards, but it falls short of true visitor protection. Mr. Leighton’s article, “How To Improve Parasailing Safety Through Economic Disincentives,” was used to help model safety legislation. He continues to write and speak about parasailing tragedies and safety reform, including high-profile cases involving death and serious injury due to operator negligence, equipment failure, and lack of enforcement in this previously unregulated industry.
Resort Tort transportation cases include accidents involving airlines, sightseeing helicopters and private planes, rental cars, car services like Uber and Lyft, taxis, buses, cruise ships, bicycles, mopeds, and more. Leighton Panoff Law represents clients injured in plane crashes, boating mishaps, recreational vehicle accidents, and motor vehicle crashes while traveling. These cases often involve liability from poor maintenance, operator negligence, or unsafe practices by travel providers entrusted with transporting vacationers safely. Each case is thoroughly investigated and aggressively litigated to ensure accountability and justice.
Yes. Mr. Leighton has litigated numerous claims against major theme parks and amusement facilities. Examples include sexual assaults by employees, slip and falls on poorly maintained surfaces, and safety failures resulting in severe injuries. His verdict in Allocco v. Walt Disney is one of many successful outcomes against powerful resort and amusement providers. The firm has pursued claims involving theme parks’ failure to provide safe environments and trained staff. Leighton Panoff Law continues to lead the fight for accountability in the theme park and resort industries across Florida.
Mr. Leighton is a founding member of the Resort Tort Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice and frequently lectures on vacation injuries across Florida and the U.S. He chairs seminars like “Resort Torts: Vacation, Resort and Recreational Liability” and authors articles on cruise ship, theme park, and travel safety. He is Chairman of the American Trial Lawyers’ Inadequate Security Litigation Group, President-elect of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, and author of Litigating Premises Security Cases. He is widely considered one of Florida’s top resort injury lawyers.
With offices in Miami and Orlando, Leighton Panoff Law leads the fight for enhanced safety for visitors to Florida. The firm represents clients against theme parks, hotels, cruise lines, taxi companies, and recreational providers. Their lawyers aggressively investigate and litigate claims, often against high-profile defendants like Disney, Marriott, Hilton, Universal, and others. They combine decades of experience with compassion for clients, seeking justice for injuries sustained while vacationing or traveling. The firm helps victims navigate complex claims, working tirelessly to overcome industry resistance and achieve substantial recoveries.