A Tennessee man has died after suffering horrific burns in a hotel shower that reached a scorching 150°F.
Alex Chronis, 76, tragically lost his life on June 19, 2022 after taking a shower at an Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky, about 10 miles from the Cincinnati, Ohio border, on November 19, 2021.
Her family was awarded more than $2 million for medical and funeral expenses on July 3 after filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Sanjay Patel, the owner of the budget hotel, and Aspyn, LLC, which operated the Econo Lodge.
After the incident, Chronis, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was in and out of the hospital and had to undergo grueling procedures, according to the lawsuit.
“Her death was caused by complications from severe scald injuries that could have been easily avoided if the hotel management had a procedure in place for the safety of its guests,” said Jeff Blankenship, the family’s attorney. Law and crime.
Alex Chronis, 76, tragically lost his life on June 19, 2022 after taking a scorching 150°F shower at an Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky on November 19, 2021.
According to the lawsuit, Chronis was on a business trip when the fateful incident occurred.
While sharing a hotel room with two co-workers, Chronis decided to take a shower, where he “was almost immediately bombarded with scalding hot water that knocked him to the shower tub floor, where the water continued to scald him,” the suit says.
His coworkers heard him fall to the floor and scream in pain before running to the bathroom and helping him out.
The next day, he and his coworkers attended a festival and sold food before being taken to Miami Valley Hospital.
Although doctors told him to rest after being discharged, Chronis returned to work at the festival. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Two days later, he returned to the hospital and remained there for about five months.
Chronis underwent multiple grafting procedures for his severe burns and was also treated for unspecified medical conditions related to the incident, according to the lawsuit.
Chronis decided to take a shower, where he was “almost immediately bombarded with scalding hot water that knocked him to the shower floor, where the water continued to scald him.” (Photo: The Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky)
By April 2022, he was stable enough to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Knoxville, but his health did not improve.
In June 2022, after being transferred to another hospital, Chronis succumbed to his injuries and died.
A Kenton County Circuit jury found that Patel and Aspyn, LLC “failed to exercise ordinary care in inspecting and maintaining” the hotel room “in a reasonably safe condition for the use of its guests.”
The jury also found that the plumbing company that installed the water heater at the hotel was not at fault.
While it’s unclear exactly what caused the extremely hot water, the lawsuit says there was “a failure to provide working faucets/fixtures…and valves.”
The $2,037,545.30 award included $1,271,486.60 in medical bills, $250,000 for Chronis’ mental and physical pain, $500,000 in punitive damages and $16,058.73 in funeral costs.
A private funeral was held for Chronis, who was a brother, uncle and great-uncle.
“We held him in high regard and will miss him greatly,” a loved one said in his obituary page.
According Arizona Department of Child SafetyMost adults can suffer third-degree burns when exposed to 150°F water for just two seconds.
