The family of an elderly Tennessee man who was fatally injured after being splashed with 150-degree Fahrenheit water in a hot shower at a hotel while on a business trip has been awarded $2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Alex Chronis, a 76-year-old food distributor, was burned while showering at an Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky, about 10 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, during a work trip in November 2021. The Knoxville News Sentinal reported.
The water was more than 150 degrees Fahrenheit and can cause third-degree burns within seconds, the newspaper reported, citing the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Chronis collapsed in the shower shortly after entering the scorching water and was pulled out by two co-workers who were in the room and heard him scream.
Chronis treated his burns with over-the-counter medicine and then got a job selling food at a local festival.
He then visited an emergency room for treatment but was soon released and returned to work, against his doctor’s advice, the paper reported.
Within two days, Chronis was back in the hospital and didn’t leave for nearly five months.
During his stay at the hospital, he underwent graft surgery to repair his burn wounds and was also treated for other unspecified illnesses he developed during his stay, the newspaper said.
In April 2022, Chronis’ condition was stabilized and he was sent to a rehabilitation facility in his hometown of Knoxville, but his condition did not improve.
He returned to the hospital in June of that year, where he died.
Chronis’ family filed a lawsuit the same year. According to Law&Crime.
According to the paper, a Tennessee jury found that hotel owner Sanjay Patel “failed to use ordinary care to inspect and maintain hotel rooms in a reasonably safe condition for the occupancy of guests.”
The judgment, filed July 3, ordered Chronis’ estate to pay $1.3 million for medical expenses, $250,000 in compensation for pain and suffering, $16,000 for funeral expenses and $500,000 in punitive damages.
“The family feels that the jury was able to understand the defendants’ unlawful conduct and the terrible injuries Alex suffered as a result,” the family’s attorney, Jeff Blankenship, told Law & Crime. “His death was the result of complications from severe burns and was easily preventable if the hotel management had instituted procedures for the safety of its customers.”
The ruling may be appealed, according to court documents.
