Lawsuit Alleges Grandfather “Boiled Alive” in Hotel Shower

A troubling lawsuit claims that a 72-year-old former Marine was “boiled alive” in an excessively hot hotel shower, with temperatures reportedly hitting 136 degrees, causing his skin to peel.

Terrill Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran, was taking a shower at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites San Jose Airport in California. He had just driven six hours from Los Angeles to see his granddaughter graduate from college in May, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed recently.

When his grandson went to check on him, he found Johnson unconscious and partly submerged in the dangerously hot water. The grandson couldn’t manage to pull him out without risking burns himself, the suit states.

Family members then attempted CPR, but “we could only watch in horror as the skin peeled away from his body,” the lawsuit claims.

The attorney representing the family described his death as “effectively boiled alive.”

The Santa Clara County coroner determined that Johnson died due to severe burns, affecting over 33 percent of his body.

While the family’s lawyer noted it wasn’t clear just how long Johnson had been exposed to the hot water, they emphasized it was “only a short time.”

Johnson’s family, including his son, daughter-in-law, and three granddaughters—one of whom, Trinity, was set to graduate from San Jose State University the next day—witnessed the tragic event.

On October 15th, the bereaved family initiated a lawsuit against the hotel for wrongful death and emotional distress caused by negligence.

The lawsuit claims that the water temperature from the shower was between 134 and 136 degrees, which exceeds California plumbing standards that limit shower and bathtub temperatures to a maximum of 120 degrees.

“This was not a freak accident,” the court documents assert. “It was a direct result of the defendant’s gross negligence and failure to meet even basic safety obligations.”

Originally from Indiana, Mr. Johnson had served in Vietnam and spent 54 years married to his high school sweetheart before moving to California.