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The family of a Tennessee man who died after being burned in 150-degree fahrenheit shower water was awarded $2m in a wrongful death lawsuit last week.
According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, Alex Chronis, 76, was visiting the Cincinnati, Ohio, region in November 2021 for work as a food vendor when he was scalded by the water while taking a shower at the Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky.
Court documents obtained by the newspaper show that the water was more than 150 degrees at the time. Water at that temperature can cause third-degree burns within seconds.
Two people pulled Chronis out of the shower after hearing him scream.
The man attempted to use nonprescription medicine to treat his injuries and went to a local festival where he worked selling food. He later went to the emergency room at Miami Valley Hospital but checked out against medical advice to go back to work.
He returned to the hospital within the next couple of days and stayed for five months. Treatment included surgical grafting for burn wounds and other medical issues.
In April 2022, he stabilized and was transferred to a rehabilitation center in Knoxville, but his condition did not improve.
He was later taken to a hospital where he died. In Kenton County, Kentucky, a jury determined that the hotel’s 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.”
The judgment, which was filed July 3, included $1.3m for medical expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, $16,000 for funeral costs, and $500,000 for punitive damages, the outlet reported.
