The family of septuagenarian Alex Chronis was awarded $2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit after the food vendor was left with fatal burn injuries after taking a shower at a Kentucky motel where the water was a scalding 150°F (65°C).
The 76-year-old food vendor was lodging at the Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky during a work trip in November 2021. Erlanger is almost 16 kilometres from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Local news media outlet, the Knoxville News Sentinel, in a report, citing the lawsuit, said that the water which was over 150°F (65°C) can cause third-degree burns within a matter of seconds.
The lawsuit also said that Chronis collapsed in the shower moments after entering the scorched water and two of his co-workers pulled him out of the bathroom.
A separate report by NBC News, which also cited the lawsuit, said photos clicked by Chronis’ nephew, who was at the motel with him, showed severely damaged and discoloured patches of skin all over his legs.
Chronis initially used nonprescription medicines to treat his burns and also attended a local festival where he sold food. He visited the hospital later for treatment but did not pay heed to the medical advice on returning to work.
He returned to the hospital again two days later but did not leave for nearly five months.
He underwent surgical grafting for his burn wounds and treatment for other issues. He was stabilised enough in April 2022 that he was sent to a rehabilitation facility in Knoxville, which was his hometown but his condition did not improve.
He returned to the hospital in June 2022 and eventually died. His family filed a lawsuit that very year.
The jury in Tennessee found that hotel owner, Sanjay Patel, “failed to exercise ordinary care in inspecting and maintaining” the hotel room “in a reasonably safe condition for the use of their guests”, local news media outlets said, citing the lawsuit.
The judgement, filed earlier this month on July 3, gave Chronis’ estate $1.3 million to cover medical expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, $16,000 for funeral costs and $500,000 for punitive damages.
“His death was caused by complications from the serious scalding wounds that were so easily preventable had the hotel management simply had a procedure in place for their customer’s safety,” Jeff Blankenship, a lawyer for the family, was quoted as saying by US-based legal news website Law&Crime.
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