Category Archives: Liability

by | June 21, 2013 · 6:26 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: South Carolina Hotel And Manager Sued For “Sexual Harassment”; Created “Hostile Environment”, Failed To Discipline

“…(the plaintiffs) claim Charleston Plaza “woefully failed in its duty” to provide a non-hostile and productive work environment free from Hospitality Industry Harassment Lawsuitssexual harassment by failing to discipline, monitor or take appropriate action against Lewis when it first learned of his sexual harassment…Charleston Plaza failed in its duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising the employment of Lewis and by failing to act in a reasonable manner to prevent subsequent tortious conduct from occurring; failed to make clear to its employees that the company took its sexual harassment policy seriously; and negligently, recklessly and intentionally retained Lewis as an employee and exposed (plaintiffs) to Lewis’ offensive conduct, according to the suits…”

Two women say their former employer caused a hostile work environment and caused them damages. Penta Charleston B LLC, which is doing business as Charleston Plaza Hotel, and Andrew Lewis were named as defendants in the suit.

From 2011 to 2012, Lewis created a hostile work environment by making grabbing Cassandra Chapman and Marie Foster in front of hotel guests’ making lewd and sexual comments  about guests and co-workers; and making racial comments about African-American co-workers, according to a complaint filed May 30 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Chapman and Foster claim they continually expressed to the district manager that Lewis’ sexual comments were unwelcome and unwanted and that his abusive conduct was interfering with their ability to adequately perform their jobs.

For more:  http://wvrecord.com/news/260766-women-say-charleston-plaza-hotel-is-a-hostile-work-environment

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by | June 20, 2013 · 6:24 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Pennsylvania Restaurant Manager Indicted For Stealing $75,000 Through “Fraudulent Transactions”

“…(the former manager) allegedly stole the money through “fraudulent transactions at the restaurant,” which may have fueled his gambling, hospitality industry employee theftstate police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said in September…(the owner) reported the thefts the same month Suozzo was arrested, according to court documents.   It was not clear how he discovered the alleged crime had taken place…”

A former manager at a White Township restaurant and golf club was indicted today on a theft charge after he allegedly stole more than $75,000 from his employer to fund a gambling habit. A Warren County grand jury returned an indictment today against James Suozzo, 56, of Route 57 in Franklin Township, on a theft charge.

At the time of his arrest in September, New Jersey State Police said Suozzo stole tens of thousands of dollars from Top of the Green Restaurant at Apple Mountain Golf Club while working as a restaurant and banquet manager. The investigation revealed Suozzo stole from April 2009 to June 4, 2011, court documents said.

Kiszonak did confirm Suozzo was fired.

For more:  http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/express-times/index.ssf/2013/06/former_top_of_green_resturant.html

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by | June 19, 2013 · 1:35 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel Employee Injured And Property Evacuated When Pool Chlorine Tablet Feeder Explodes

“…the hotel’s general manager says an employee suffered minor injuries when the equipment that feeds chlorine tablets to the pool exploded. He Hotel Pool Chemical Riskswas taken to a hospital…The hotel was evacuated when fire crews got on scene, including about 10 guest rooms and 15 employees…”

An explosion at a hotel in Clinton County forced some guests from their rooms Tuesday morning. It happened around 9:30 a.m. at the Comfort Inn near Lamar. The building was evacuated as a precaution and fans were used to air out the hotel. By 11 a.m., business was back to normal.

Emergency officials say chlorine can be deadly but in this instance, the chlorine tablets are commonly used for swimming pools and don’t pose serious risks.

For more:  http://wnep.com/2013/06/18/hotel-cleared-out-after-chlorine-incident/

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by | June 18, 2013 · 10:14 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hotel Pool Preparation, Maintenance And Checklist” By Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager Joe Fisco, CLSD (Video)

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/52436189]

P3Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager, Joe Fisco, CLSD , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘Hotel Pool Preparation, Maintenance And Checklist’.

P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.

For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.

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by | June 17, 2013 · 10:16 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: North Carolina Hotel “Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Deaths” Tied To 2006 “Unpermitted Pool Water Heater” Replacement, Poor Ventilation System

“…the hotel, which was originally built in 2000, never applied for a permit, nor did they seek an inspection of the new pool water heater…State Hotel Carbon Monoxide Deathslaw requires a permit if businesses perform any alteration to indoor plumbing or heating…An 11-year-old Rock Hill boy died in room 225 at the Best Western Plus in Boone in early June. The toxicology report states the concentration of carbon monoxide in his blood was greater than 60-percent…An elderly couple staying in the same room died in April of carbon monoxide poisoning…”

Authorities in Boone say the Best Western Plus replaced the pool’s water heater without applying for a permit or requesting an inspection. The town of Boone Planning and Inspection Department says the Best Western Plus, the hotel where three people died of carbon monoxide poisoning, replaced the pool water heater in 2006.

The Planning and Inspection Department says the town is discussing having the fire department check all area hotels to ensure there are no other pool water heaters that have been replaced without their knowledge. Officials say this will be implemented in the near future.

Room 225 is directly above a storage room where pool chemicals are housed, and the pool’s water heating system lives. Authorities have blamed deficiencies in the natural gas water heater and the storage room’s ventilation system for the poisonous gas seeping into the guestroom directly above.

For more:  http://www.wcnc.com/news/business/No-permit-no-inspection-after-installing-new-hotel-water-heater-211841721.html

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by | June 14, 2013 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Florida Hotel’s Restaurant Deck Collapses Into Water Injuring More Than Twenty People, Two Seriously

“…(the restaurant) lost power when the collapse happened, casting victims and rescuers alike into the dark…bartenders were diving into the water Florida Restaurant Deck Collapseto help rescue patrons. Fire trucks pulled to the water’s edge and extended their ladders to help patrons climb to safety…approximately 100 people were on the deck when it fell into the water. The deck’s official capacity was not immediately known…”

As fans packed Shuckers Waterfront Grill to cheer on the Miami Heat against the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night, the waterfront patio deck gave way, crashing into Biscayne Bay, spilling dozens of terrified patrons into the water. The accident happened at the popular North Bay Village spot, in back of the Best Western Plus on the Bay Inn & Marina, 1819 79th Street Causeway.

As many as two dozen people were injured. By 11:20 p.m., 15 people had been transported to various hospitals, two of them in serious condition, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Eugene Germain Jr. Another fire captain said one person might be missing and that a search was underway as rain fell.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/13/3450248/breaking-deck-collapses-at-shuckers.html#storylink=cpy

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by | June 13, 2013 · 6:16 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel Fire Starts In Air Conditioning Unit, Resulting In Extensive Damage And Death Of Elderly Guest From Smoke Inhalation

“…occupants of the actual room where the fire started…woke up in the night to their fire alarm going off and could see fire coming out of the air Hotel Fire and Smoke Damageconditioning unit in their room…the death of hotel guest  Rena Goodson, 74, of Holly Lake Ranch, was attributed to smoke inhalation…she was carried from the burning building by firefighters and transferred to a Dallas hospital, where she died over the weekend…”

Fire investigators said Wednesday that the fire that claimed the life of a Holly Lake Ranch woman and destroyed a large part of the Best Western Trail Dust Inn started in an air conditioning unit.  Assistant Fire Marshall Eric Hill said fire investigators Aaron Kager and David James interviewed hotel guests and combed through the burned out section of the hotel before making the ruling.

The fatal fire broke out sometime before 2 a.m. Saturday in the west wing of the hotel. The assistant fire marshall said the motel was booked to capacity when the fire broke out and forced evacuation of 58 people staying in that section of the hotel. Another 150 people were evacuated from adjoining buildings, which were threatened by the fire that stretched firefighting resources.

For more:  http://www.myssnews.com/news-telegram/news/22372-fatal-hotel-fire-started-in-ac-unit-ruled-accidental.html

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by | June 11, 2013 · 5:55 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Tennessee Hotel Guest Dies From “Carbon Monoxide Poisoning”; Room Directly Above Natural Gas Pool Heater

“…Health Department inspectors found deficiencies at the Best Western’s indoor swimming pool earlier this hotel Carbon Monoxide Poisoningyear…the bottom-floor pool is below the second-floor room where the deaths occurred. Room 225 is directly above a room with a natural gas heater for the pool, police said…a March 6 inspection showed the pool’s pump was not approved by an industry standards group. The report also found the pool’s chemical and equipment room needed better ventilation…”

Police on Monday said elevated carbon monoxide levels were found in a hotel room where an 11-year-old boy died over the weekend, two months after the poisonous gas killed an elderly couple in the same room. Authorities said an autopsy of Jeffrey Lee Williams of Rock Hill indicated he died from asphyxia, though blood tests were not complete. Jeffrey was found Saturday in a room at Best Western Plus Blue Ridge Plaza, where he was staying with his mother, Jeannie Williams.

Williams, 49, remained hospitalized Monday at Watauga Medical Center. At a Monday news conference, Boone police Sgt. Shane Robbins said newly obtained blood test results show carbon monoxide killed Daryl Dean Jenkins, 73, and Shirley Mae Jenkins, 72, both of Longview, Wash. They were found April 16, also in Room 225.

The revelations raised new questions about the death investigations, including why blood test results in the Jenkins’ deaths took two months to complete.

A spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the state’s medical examiner’s office, refused to release death reports in the three cases, saying they were incomplete.

The Observer requested an interview with N.C. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Deborah Radisch, but spokesman Ricky Diaz said she would not be available.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/10/4097181/report-carbon-monoxide-found-at.html#storylink=cpy

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by | June 10, 2013 · 6:01 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Arizona Restaurant Kitchen Workers Suffer “Heat-Related Illnesses”; “Inoperative Air Conditioning System” Leads To Hospitalization Of 3 People

“…the air conditioning in the kitchen at the restaurant may have been out for up to a week…A 19 year employee was having Restaurant Kitchen Health Riskstrouble breathing, and complained of being light-headed and dizzy…Soon after 10 other employees said they too were feeling ill…In all three people were taken to the hospital with heat related illnesses, the remaining eight were treated and released…”

Northwest Fire, along with emergency medical personnel are on scene at a McDonald’s Restaurant located at 8280 North Cortaro Road. The restaurant was evacuated after 11 employees became ill. Firefighters with the Northwest Fire District said they initially thought hazardous materials was the cause, turns out it was heat related.

Captain Adam Goldberg says, “It is a hundred and some odd degrees outside, 96 degrees inside and for anybody who doesn’t prepare for high temperatures certainly they will feel the effects of that heat, and some who are not in good physical condition to begin with will feel those effects sooner.”

The 19 year old is listed in serious condition, the other two are stable.

For more:  http://www.kvoa.com/news/mcdonald-s-employees-suffer-heat-symptoms/

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by | June 8, 2013 · 7:10 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: CDC Reports That Up To “58% Of Hotel And Public Swimming Pools Contain Fecal Matter”, Resulting In Increased “E.Coli & Other Recreational Water Illnesses”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Mh9GoYy5g]

In 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that found fecal matter in 58% of public swimming pools. The study looked at 161 samples from pool filter concentrates…The study detected E. coli in over 50% of the pool samples, indicating that swimmers frequently introduced fecal material into pools. This could mean that pathogens can be transmitted to others through the use of these pools and recreational water activities…Although the study found E. coli at higher rates in municipal pools, pools that required a membership or were located within a club still tested positive 49% of the time.

Although the study found E. coli at higher rates in municipal pools, pools that required a membership or were located within a club still tested positive 49% of the time. Since 1978, the incidence of recreational water illness (RWI) outbreaks of acute gastrointestinal illness has substantially increased.

Some of the organisms detected in the study included:
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• E. coli
• Giardia intestinalis
• Cryptosporidium

Contrary to popular belief, chlorine does not kill all germs instantly. There are germs today that are very tolerant to chlorine and were not known to cause human disease until recently. Once these germs get in the pool, it can take anywhere from minutes to days for chlorine to kill them.

Recreational water illnesses are caused by germs spread by swallowing, breathing in mists or aerosols of, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Recreational water illnesses can also be caused by chemicals in the water or chemicals that evaporate from the water and cause indoor air quality problems.

These are just a few things to know about microbial contaminants and recreational water illnesses, to learn more about this other health and safety or environmental and indoor air quality issues, please visit the websites shown on the screen.

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