Category Archives: Injuries

by | February 6, 2012 · 8:23 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: South Carolina Hotel's Swimming Pool Heater May Have Been Leaking Carbon Monoxide For Weeks Prior To Guest's Death

Investigators say the hotel’s swimming pool heater leaked carbon monoxide sometime during the night, killing Moran and injuring at least 17 others. Carbon monoxide readings at the hotel reached 500 and 600 parts per million, South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry said. Authorities say any reading over 30 parts per million is cause for concern.

“…(a guest)… speculated that his death was caused by the swimming pool before investigators confirmed that carbon monoxide leaked from the pool’s heater…”

Staff members at the Holiday Inn Express in South Charleston were aware of a problem with their swimming pool 10 days before an apparent carbon monoxide leak from the pool’s heater killed one and injured several others Tuesday, two Randolph County women said this week.

Lori Burnside, 40, of Montrose, and Danielle Mallow, 38, of Elkins, stayed at the Corridor G hotel with their two daughters on Jan. 21, but said they did not get any sleep because the hotel’s fire alarms kept them awake during the night.

The alarms were blamed on a problem with the indoor swimming pool, they said, which had to be constantly ventilated by the hotel staff.

For more:  http://wvgazette.com/News/201202040030?page=2&build=cache

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by | February 4, 2012 · 6:49 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Appeals Court Allows "Facebook Photos" As Evidence In Denying Man's Claim For Additional Compensation In Workers' Compensation Claim

“…the appeals court agreed with previous rulings, which denied a request for additional treatment after diagnostic tests showed “no recurrent hernia and surgery to explore the scrotum” and saw no abuse by the courts in allowing the photos…In denying Clement’s request for additional compensation and treatment, the court ruled in favor of the use of Facebook photos as a evidence…”

An appeals court  has ruled that photos on Facebook and Myspace of a man “drinking and partying” can be used as evidence to deny him further workers compensation claims.

At the center of the suit is  Zackery Clement, who suffered a hernia  March 12, 2009 after a refrigerator fell on him while on the job at Johnson’s Warehouse Showroom in Pine Bluff,  Ark.  Clement, who was compensated for medical expenses and received temporary total-disability benefits for more than a year, was seeking an extension of benefits following three surgeries as a result of the injury.

An administrative law judge and the Arkansas Compensation Commission denied Clement’s application for additional benefits, and Clement, 27, was hoping the Arkansas Court of Appeals would reverse the ruling. He argued that he needed further medical treatment and disability payments because of “excruciating pain.”

For more:  http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/02/court-okays-facebook-party-photos-in-workers-comp-claim/

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by | February 2, 2012 · 6:46 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Employee Files "Trip-And-Fall Lawsuit" For Negligence In "Failing To Secure Floor Covering During Construction"

 “…Gonzales was working at the Holiday Inn on Walden Road when she tripped over a loose floor covering placed in the area where ISC was contracted to perform repair work…Gonzales is suing for her past and future mental anguish, pain, medical expenses and lost wages, plus exemplary damages…”

A trip-and-fall lawsuit, which was slated to be tried in December, will now be tried in May. Holiday Inn employee Carol Gonzales filed suit against Insurance Services Construction on Oct. 20, 2010, in Jefferson County District Court, alleging the company negligently failed to securely fasten a floor covering while performing work at the hotel.

International Catastrophe Solutions was later added as a defendant, court papers say. On June 22 Gonzales filed a motion for continuance, asking that the case be continued “for a couple of months based on the fact that ICS has still not” officially answered the suit, the motion states.

A hearing on the matter was held Aug. 22. Judge Bob Wortham, 58th District Court, decided to take no action on the motion. However, on Nov. 16 an amended discovery control plan order was entered in the case, bumping the case from the court’s December docket to the May.

For more:  http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/241507-trip–fall-trial-bumped-to-may

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by | February 1, 2012 · 6:41 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Death Of West Virginia Hotel Guest On Fifth Floor From "Carbon Monixide Poisoning" Stresses Need For Carbon Monoxide Detectors

“…Firefighters reported high levels of carbon monoxide in the building, and the remaining guests and employees were evacuated. The gas filtered up to the fifth floor from a pool heater on the ground floor…”

The death of one man and grave condition of another has South Charleston City Council members thinking of requiring hotels to install carbon monoxide detectors. Mayor Frank Mullens was still gathering information Tuesday evening from city fire and police officers at the Holiday Inn Express along Corridor G.

A construction worker was found dead in his hotel room Tuesday morning when other members of his crew went to wake him. The man’s roommate was unresponsive and was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center’s General Hospital, where he was in critical condition Tuesday evening.

Two others were taken from the hotel to St. Francis Hospital.

Mullens said he never had heard of anything like it.

“From what I gather right now, we’re looking at a tragic accident,” the mayor said. “I’m just speechless. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before in my life.”

The hotel, which opened in July 1999, had no carbon monoxide detectors, according to South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry.

State law requires all homes with gas appliances built after 1998 to have carbon monoxide detectors, but there is no such requirement for hotels. Petry said he didn’t know of a single hotel in the area with such detectors.

Mullens said the city follows state building code but the one regarding carbon monoxide detectors only in homes didn’t make any sense.

For more:  http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/201201310236

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by | January 31, 2012 · 10:16 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: West Virginia Hotel Evacuated After Carbon Monoxide Detected; One Guest Dies And Others Hospitalized

 

The Holiday Inn Express along Corridor G in South Charleston has been evacuated after carbon monoxide was detected inside the building.

Kanawha County 911 Dispatchers tell WSAZ.com a man was found dead in the hotel and three others taken to the hospital.

One man was seriously injured. The other two victims were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

 

A South Charleston Firefighter tells WSAZ.com the two men were found on the 5th floor of the hotel.

 

Firefighters say there were extremely high levels of carbon monoxide found on several floors of the hotel.

 

About 10 to 15 people were inside the hotel at the time of the evacuation.

 

Firefighters say the room where the two men were staying did not have a carbon monoxide detector. According to the Assistant Fire Chief, hotels are not required by law to have carbon monoxide detectors, only smoke detectors.

For more:  http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/BREAKING_NEWS__Body_Found_at_Local_Hotel_Building_Evacuated_After_Carbon_Monoxide_Detected_138404409.html?ref=409

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by | January 29, 2012 · 7:10 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Texas Restaurants Receive "Dividends" Back From Workers Compensation Insurance Program For Maintaining "Successful Safety Programs"

“…dividends come back to restaurants participating in the TRA’s workers comp insurance program… creates incentives for the restaurants to have a safety program and to work with the insurance company and the employees to maintain a safer workplace….”

“Every year we get back … a little over half of our premium that we paid. So, it’s a big return of an expense,” says Lindskog whose company has been in the program since 2004. “A lot of people don’t want workers comp insurance because it’s expensive. But if you get half of it back, it makes it much more cost effective for your restaurant.”

Texas Mutual is the leading provider of workers comp insurance in the state. It was created by the Texas Legislature in 1991 when major reforms on workers comp became effective. Its board of directors is composed of individuals from companies it insures as well as those appointed by the governor of Texas.

For more:  http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2012/01/25/san-antonio-restaurants-score-rebate.html?page=2

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by | January 24, 2012 · 1:25 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued For "Negligence" In "Slip-And-Fall" Accident

“…According to the brief, Rodriguez fell, while holding his son, when he slipped on algae growing on a walkway at the hotel…”

A Harris County man is suing over claims he was hurt while staying at a Spring-area extended-stay hotel.
Roy Rodriguez filed a lawsuit on Jan. 20 in Harris County District Court against Sun Suites of Green’s Point, and others, citing negligence.

Rodriguez says he suffered injuries as a guest at Sun Suites Extended Stay Hotel, located at 12010 Kuykendahl Road in Spring. Rodriguez is seeking damages and court costs. He is being represented in the case by Houston attorney Mehran “Mike” Talabi.

For more: http://www.ultimatespringtx.com/stories/315167-courts-spring-hotel-named-in-slip-and-fall-suit

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by | January 15, 2012 · 1:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Family Of Housekeeper Who Died Falling Down Service Elevator Shaft; State Required Inspection Two-Weeks Overdue

“…Gloria Rodriguez, 65, had been an employee at the Crockett Hotel for 12 years when she fell six stories down the service elevator shaft Dec. 28. The elevator’s state-required annual inspection was more than two weeks overdue at the time…”

The family of a Crockett Hotel housekeeper who plunged to her death down an open elevator shaft last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Named in the suit are New Jersey-based Otis Elevator Company and 1859-Historic Hotels Ltd., a Galveston-based company that owns the Crockett Hotel and the nearby Menger Hotel in downtown San Antonio.

“Based upon current information, it is believed that she attempted to get on the elevator but when the doors opened there was no elevator, causing her to fall,” Houston-based attorney James Hada wrote in the suit, filed Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Wrongful-death-suit-filed-for-fatal-elevator-2519149.php#ixzz1jSJFD4KN

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by | January 14, 2012 · 2:10 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Chicago Hotel Pool Remains Closed Due To Failure To Comply With Federal Law Requiring Drains To Be Fitted With Large Covers And Backup Systems

“…The law requires drains to be fitted with larger covers and backup systems. It affects all public pools and spas, including those at apartment and condo complexes, hotels and health clubs…Since the law went into effect, the commission first removed the backup requirement, then reinstated it, bowing to pressure from the industry and then to safety advocates…”

Sunlight still bathes the mosaic tile, terra-cotta fountain and potted palms at the Hotel InterContinental’s iconic indoor pool. But no bathers ripple the water. Stuck in regulatory purgatory, the pool has been closed since October.

The junior Olympic-sized pool is one of the better-known in the city and once drew famous visitors like “Tarzan” star Johnny Weissmuller. Now, it’s among nearly 300 public pools across Illinois still listed as noncompliant with federal regulations designed to reduce the risk of swimmers being sucked into drains and drowning.

Hotel officials say their pool will reopen soon. And many of the other facilities are outdoors and would be closed in winter, anyway. But with so many affected sites, expensive fixes and delays in getting state approval, some pool operators wonder if they’ll be ready come spring.

For more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-pool-drains-update-20120115,0,7498748.story

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by | January 12, 2012 · 7:00 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Washington State Supreme Court To Hear Restaurant Operator's "Products Liability And Negligence Lawsuit"; Employee "Spat On Hamburger"

An appeals court asked a state supreme court for help in deciding whether to revive a case by a police officer against Burger King over a Whopper he says a worker spat on.

Bylsma sued Burger King and restaurant operator Kaizen Restaurants Inc under products liability and negligence laws. He said he suffered ongoing emotional trauma from the incident, including vomiting, nausea, food anxiety and insomnia that required professional help.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Wednesday asked the Washington Supreme Court to clarify whether Washington law would allow the officer to recover damages for emotional harm when he only touched, but did not eat, the contaminated burger.

Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Edward Bylsma said in the lawsuit that he drove his police cruiser through a Burger King drive-thru in Vancouver, Washington, in March 2009. He had “uneasy feeling” about the two employees that served him, the complaint said. When Bylsma later examined the burger, he noticed a large glob of spit on the meat patty. He touched the substance, but did not eat the burger.

DNA testing revealed the saliva belonged to one of the Burger King employees, who pled guilty to assault and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, the court opinion said.

For more: http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/01_-_January/9th_Circuit_asks_state_court_to_weigh_in_on_Whopper_spit_suit/

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