Motel Guest Dies After Burn by 150-Degree Shower

A jury awarded $2 million to the family of an elderly man who died from second and third-degree burns from a scalding hot shower at a Kentucky motel.

The victim's family alleged that the shower reached temperatures over 150 degrees Fahrenheit on the fateful day, Knewz.com has learned.

Alex Chronis, who was 76 years old at the time of the incident, checked into the Econo Lodge motel in Erlanger, Kentucky, on November 19, 2021, along with two associates.

The following morning Chronis tried to take a hot shower but was "almost immediately bombarded with scalding hot water which knocked him to the floor of the shower tub where the water continued to scald him," according to the filed complaint.

His associates heard his fall and screams, and rushed to his aid and pulled him out of the tub.

According to the complaint, the shower released water at an "extremely excessive temperature ," and Chronis's family attorney Jeffrey Blankenship alleged that the temperature of the water was over 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

Notably, most adults would suffer from third-degree burns after exposure to a 150-degree shower for only two seconds.

Chronis's nephew, who was at the motel with him, took photos of the burns sustained by him following the extremely hot shower. According to reports, the photos show patches of damaged and discolored skin all over Chronis's legs.

It was reported that Chronis initially used nonprescription medication for the burns. He was also admitted to a hospital but left shortly afterward to resume work, according to the family attorney.

However, he returned to the hospital two days later for a skin graft surgery , following which he remained hospitalized for five months.

"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," Blankenship was quoted as saying.

Per the filed complaint, the 76-year-old was transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Knoxville, Tennessee – his hometown – in April 2022.

During his months of hospitalization, Chronis endured "substantial conscious pain and suffering," the complaint noted. He passed away from his injuries on June 19, 2022.

Since he was not married and had no children, his niece filed a lawsuit against the Econo Lodge motel in Kentucky for his "untimely and wrongful death."

The company Aspyn LLC, which operates the motel, was also named as a defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Chronis's niece.

Blankenship stated that the defense tried to establish that Chronis did not even stay at the motel.

According to the trial order and judgment, the jury found that Sanjay Patel, the owner of Aspyn LLC, "failed to exercise ordinary care in inspecting and maintaining their hotel rooms in a reasonably safe condition for the use of their guests."

It has been reported that the July 3 judgment from the jury awarded Chronis’s estate a little over $2 million—$1,271,486.60 to cover medical expenses, $16,058.73 for funeral expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, and $500,000 for punitive damages.