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Indian American motel owner to pay $2 million as guest dies from scalding shower
Alex Chronis, a 76-year-old man, was scorched at a Kentucky motel as the shower sprayed 150°F water on him.
Patel acted in reckless disregard for the rights, lives and safety of other persons. / Pexels
A 76-year old guest in a Kentucky motel died after a scalding shower left him with third-degree burns, resulting in a lawsuit that has now ordered the motel's Indian-American owner to pay the deceased’s family over $2 million.
Alex Chronis, took the fatal shower on November.19, 2021, at an Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky, owned by Sanjay Patel as stated in the lawsuit filed in Kenton County. Erlanger is near the Kentucky-Ohio border, approximately 10 miles southwest of downtown Cincinnati.
Chronis, a Tennessee resident and food vendor, was in Kentucky for business with two coworkers sharing his room, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Upon entering the shower that morning and turning it on, Chronis was "almost immediately bombarded with scalding hot water," the lawsuit detailed.
The sudden pain and shock caused him to fall, and he was unable to climb out of the shower tub. Trapped under the continuous stream of 150°F water, Chronis could only scream for help. His coworkers eventually rushed in and pulled him out. The suit stated that significant damage had already occurred, leaving his skin badly burned and blistered.
Chronis lived for seven months following the incident. He spent much of that time in hospitals, before passing away on June 19, 2022. That same year, Chronis’ family filed a lawsuit against Aspyn LLC, the motel's owner, and its operator, Sanjay Patel, according to court documents.
In a judgement, filed on July 3, 2024, a jury found that Patel "failed to exercise ordinary care in inspecting and maintaining their hotel rooms in a reasonably safe condition," leading to Chronis' injuries. The jury awarded Chronis’ family a total of $2,037,545, covering medical and funeral expenses, pain and suffering, and punitive damages. They stated that Patel "acted in reckless disregard for the rights, lives and safety of other persons."
The exact cause of the scalding water remains unclear, but the lawsuit cited a "failure to provide functioning faucets/fixtures ... and valves." The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission states that just two seconds of exposure to water at 150 degrees is enough to cause third-degree burns in most adults, with lower temperatures of 140, 130, and even 120 degrees capable of causing similar injuries depending on the duration of exposure.
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