A Kentucky motel has been ordered to pay more than $2 million in damages to the family of a man who died from severe burns after taking a 150-degree shower.
The Econo Lodge Motel in Erlanger, Kentucky, must compensate the estate of Alex Chronis, a 76-year-old man who sustained third-degree burns from scalding hot water in November 2021.
According to Business Insider, the jury awarded the Chronis estate $2.06 million, including $1.3 million for medical expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, $16,000 for funeral costs, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
The incident occurred a day after Chronis checked into the Econo Lodge.
The lawsuit detailed that upon taking a shower, Chronis was immediately exposed to water exceeding 150 degrees Fahrenheit, causing him to fall and sustain severe burns.
Despite undergoing numerous medical procedures, including surgical grafting, Chronis remained hospitalized and in a rehabilitation facility for over five months before succumbing to his injuries on June 19, 2022.
Initially, the estate filed the lawsuit in October 2022 in Kentucky’s Kenton County Circuit Court, seeking $7 million in damages.
The legal action argued that the motel’s failure to regulate water temperature resulted in Chronis’s catastrophic injuries and subsequent death.
Attorney Jeffrey Blankenship, representing Chronis’s family, highlighted the severity of the burns, stating:
“He had to go through skin grafting because he had deep-tissue second-and third-degree burns from the scalding temperature of the shower at the hotel.”
Chronis, who had no children and was unmarried, had his niece file the lawsuit on his behalf.
His nephew, who was with him at the motel, documented the aftermath of the incident with photographs showing severely damaged and discolored patches of skin on Chronis’s legs.
The substantial award underscores the severe negligence on the part of the Econo Lodge Motel and serves as a reminder of the legal obligations businesses have in ensuring the safety of their premises.
