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Human Trafficking And Hotel Liability

by | Jul 20, 2019 | Human Trafficking

The Epidemic

Human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, has become a crippling epidemic in our own backyard. Each year, there are hundreds of thousands of victims of human trafficking in this country. These victims are forced or coerced into the illegal billion-dollar human trafficking industry, where they are exploited, kidnapped, drugged, held against their will, and prostituted. The demoralized victims that are preyed on by the human traffickers are predominately women and children.

The Liability

How has human trafficking become such an epidemic in the United States? Hotels and motels across the country have played a vital role in aiding and abetting the human trafficking industry. Hotels and motels have increasingly become safe havens for human traffickers and their illegal activities, as the owners, managers, and/or other employees of the hotels and motels either turn a willful blind eye to the illegal activity, or are improperly trained to identify the signs of human trafficking. Not only are hotels condoning the victimization of those forced into human trafficking, they are also profiting off the victimization through the illegal proceeds secured by the human traffickers. As a result, the human trafficking epidemic is flourishing through hotel and motel chains throughout the United States, including Maryland.

The Remedy

At Schlachman, Belsky & Weiner, P.A., we strive to help hold hotels accountable who willfully turn a blind eye. We believe that it is our duty to right the wrongs of the hotels for their negligent conduct. Hotel owners have a duty to protect their guests, including victims of human trafficking on their premises. If they fail to do so, they are liable under Maryland law to compensate the victims. If you were, or are, the victim of human trafficking, please do not hesitate to call Michael J. Belsky and Catherine A. Dickinson at (410) 685-2022. It is the goal of Michael J. Belsky, Catherine A. Dickinson and Schlachman, Belsky & Weiner, P.A. to help make you whole again, while putting a stop to human trafficking one hotel at a time

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