Lawsuit claims slammed hotel room door severed part of woman’s finger

A woman is suing a downtown Vancouver hotel over an incident in which she says her finger was partly severed by a slammed door.

In a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Dolores Bice says that at the time of the incident — on July 11, 2015 — she was staying as a guest in the Landis Hotel, located at 1200 Hornby St.

“As she was departing her room, the door-closing mechanism on her hotel room failed, causing the door to slam shut on her left hand and subsequently sever (part of ) her ring finger,” says her lawsuit.

“As a result of the incident, the plaintiff sustained serious personal injuries, losses and damages.”

Bice, described in the lawsuit as being retired, said the personal injuries included injuries to her finger and left arm and shoulder, generalized pain and suffering, and stress and anxiety.

She claims that as the owner of the premises, the hotel owed her a duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure that she was safe and alleges that the incident was caused by the hotel’s negligence.

Particulars of the alleged negligence include a failure to warn her that the door to her room could have posed a risk to her safety by reason of the failure of the doorclosing mechanism.

Bice is seeking general and special damages, cost of future care and loss of housekeeping capacity.

No response has yet been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not yet been tested in court.

A woman identifying herself as the property manager of the hotel said the matter is being dealt with by an insurance company that is investigating the incident.

The manager, who declined to give her full name, said she was not employed by the hotel at the time of the incident and, therefore, it was “very hard” for her to comment.

“We never heard of any accident like this, ever,” she said of the incident.