Tragic incident in the USA: Because a hotel shower had a fatal malfunction, 76-year-old Alex Chronis showered with 65 degree Celsius hot water – and died months later from the consequences.
The accident occurred in November 2021: According to the Knoxville News Sentinal, the food vendor was on a business trip and checked into the Econo Lodge hotel in the city of Erlanger, Kentucky.
But when he stepped into the shower, the hot water burned his skin – Chronis suffered severe third-degree burns and collapsed in the bathroom. Two colleagues heard the pain-filled screams and pulled his motionless body out of the shower.
He then remained in the hospital for five months: Chronis received skin grafts and was then treated for complications that arose during his hospital stay.
The Econo Lodge hotel: The owner was sentenced to a fine of more than two million dollars
In April 2022, his condition stabilized and he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility in his hometown of Knoxville. However, shortly afterwards, his health deteriorated rapidly and in June 2022 he was transferred back to hospital where he eventually died.
Family receives more than two million dollars
Die Family filed suit that same year. A Tennessee jury found hotel owner Sanjay Patel guilty because he “failed to exercise due care in the inspection and maintenance” of the hotel room “to keep it in a condition reasonably safe for guests,” according to the verdict.
The court awarded the family $1.3 million for medical expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, $16,000 for funeral expenses and $500,000 in punitive damages. So in total, the family will receive more than $2 million.
“The family is confident that the jury was able to recognize the defendant’s misconduct and the resulting horrific injuries Alex suffered,” Jeff Blankenship, the family’s lawyer, told the US newspaper Law&Crime.
The lawyer continues: “His death was caused by complications of severe scalding that could have been so easily avoided if the hotel management had simply had better procedures in place to ensure the safety of its customers.”