Question: What are my options if my daughter slipped and fell on hotel property? My daughter fell breaking her two front teeth. She has undergone extensive dental work. The hotel stairs were slick and old non-skid strips that were completely painted over. Hotel did an incident report and I took pictures of the stairs. What are my options?

Answer: I've recently answered a similar question for an elderly man and my answer centers on identifying the defect, if any, that caused the person to fall. You have no options short of your own health insurance, if you can't prove there was a defect that was not open and obvious, and caused her to trip or slip and then fall. It's the defect that makes or breaks these cases. What is the defect?

What's the defect?

In your situation I do believe you've identifed the defective condition - non-skid strips that were painted over. The existing strip seems to be an admission the steps get slick and are an injury hazard. That's why they were applied to the tread surface. The negligent act, the defect, is the owner applying paint that covers the nonslipping quality of the strip. That is certainly an artificial condition that increased the risk of injury. Seems like an easy case to me, and short of seeing a lawyer there are some things you can do to get coverage. 

Most businesses have some sort of medical pay coverage under the casualty insurance policy and will pay for medical (limited coverage dollar amount) without regard to fault. So I'd suggest you do two things. One, contact the hotel and ask if they have medical pay insurance coverage, and if they do turn in a claim for the expense you're incurring. Second, contact a lawyer to see if you have an enforceable claim.

By the way, you did the right thing in noting the 'defect' and in photographing it. Well done.