Kentucky Motel Must Pay $2M After Guest Dies From 150-Degree Shower

A Kentucky motel was ordered to pay $2 million after a guest died from a shower that was at a scalding temperature of 150 degrees.

NBC News reports that 76-year-old Alex Chronis sustained second- and third-degree burns and spent months in the hospital before he died as a result of his injuries. The incident occurred after Chronis checked into an Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky, on Nov. 18, 2021, and got into the tub to take a shower.

After entering a shower, Chronis was struck by the high-temperature water. This shock knocked him to the floor as the scalding water continued to rain down upon him. Two people who were with Chronis at the motel heard his screams and pulled him out of the tub.

Chronis worked as a food vendor in the Kentucky area. After the incident, he tried to tend to his wounds using over-the-counter medication. He later went to a local hospital but left against medical advice to return to work, per the Knoxville News Sentinel.

A lawsuit filed in October 2022 in Kentucky’s Kenton County Circuit Court shows that the estate initially sought $7 million in damages. It reads, “Following the scalding incident at the Motel, Decedent spent months in hospitals, underwent numerous medical procedures, and endured substantial conscious pain and suffering before succumbing to his injuries and died on June 19, 2022.”

The suit claimed the hotel was negligent. It reads, “Defendants owed the Motel’s guests, including the decedent as a licensee, the duty to exercise reasonable care for their safety and war of or protect them from unreasonable and dangerous conditions, and to provide a reasonably safe place for the business contemplated by a motel.”

“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,” Jeffrey Blankenship, attorney for Chronis’ family, told NBC News.

The judgment, filed July 3, gave Chronis’ estate $1.3 million to cover medical expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, $16,000 for funeral costs, and $500,000 for punitive damages.