Tag Archives: Electrocution

by | April 28, 2015 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Settlement Deal Reached in Hotel Pool Electrocution”

The investigation showed that the Hilton Westchase did not meet city, state, and national electrical codes and that the pool did not have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) on the pool lighting systemHouston Hilton – which are standard safety features in pool construction, or kitchen and bathroom design, where electrical systems might come in contact with water.

A final civil settlement was reached Monday in a hotel swimming pool electrocution death that a devastated family claimed was “gross negligence of epic proportions.”

Raul Hernandez Martinez, 27, died 6 days after the 2013 Labor Day weekend incident.

He and his family had gathered at the Hilton Houston Westchase hotel and several family members were in the hotel swimming pool when the pool lights came on.

Martinez’ little brother David Duran, 11, began to convulse in the deep end of the pool. Their mom, Maria Isabel Duran, tried to reach the boy but was shocked unconscious by the electrical current.

Family members pulled her from the pool where she was revived via CPR. Martinez, meanwhile, reached his little brother and pushed him to the edge where others pulled the boy out.

But Martinez became motionless as the current continued to surge through the pool.

Rescued and revived, he never recovered and was removed from life support 6 days later.

For more: http://bit.ly/1PSDdPN

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by | October 3, 2013 · 5:30 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Texas Hotel Faces “Wrongful Death & Gross Negligence Lawsuit” After Electrocution Of Young Boy; Pool Light System Did Not Have GFCI, Meet Electrical Codes

“…An investigation after the electrocution death found that the pool “did not meet applicable city, state and national electrical codes” Hospitality Industry Wrongful Death Lawsuitsand did not have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) on the pool light system which are normal installations in pool construction to prevent electrical surges…Brown Electric Inc., had been hired by Hilton to bring the pool into compliance but, according to a city of Houston inspector, had performed work without obtaining the proper permits. After the death Hilton and Brown were cited for “use of electrical system which constitutes a hazard to safety, health and public welfare.”…”

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, a Missouri City family alleges “gross negligence of epic proportions” for the swimming pool electrocution death of a young man at a Hilton Hotel swimming pool. Raul Hernandez Martinez, 27, and his family spent the Labor Day weekend at the Hilton Houston Westchase hotel at 9999 Westheimer in West Houston.

They were at the swimming pool at dusk when the lights came on automatically. Eyewitness accounts, and now a civil lawsuit, detail how an electrical current immediately surged through the water. David Duran, 11, “suddenly cried out as his body convulsed and he began to float helplessly near the pool light in the deep end,” according to the lawsuit the family filed against Hilton Hotels and the Houston-area electrical contractor Brown Electric Inc., which had performed recent upgrades to the pool’s electrical system.

The boy’s mom Isabel Duran reached for her son and was shocked as well and knocked unconscious. She was revived via CPR and suffered several broken ribs when family members and bystanders dragged her from the pool. The boy’s brother, Raul Hernandez Martinez then fought through the electrical current to retrieve his little brother and push him to the edge of the pool where others helped pull him out.

For more:  http://www.khou.com/news/local/Family-files-lawsuit-in-hotel-pool-electrocution-death-226219641.html

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by | March 29, 2012 · 8:38 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Elevator Mechanic Dies When Electrocuted During Maintenance Work Near Control Panel

“…(He) was performing maintenance in the engine room on the ninth floor of  the Axa Equitable building …when he was electrocuted just  after 9:30 p.m…”  

Con Edison was called to the scene for safety reasons, an  agency spokesman said, but it was unclear how the man came into contact with  live wires in the room that houses a control panel and a riser that works to  operate the building’s 34 elevators.

A 39-year-old elevator mechanic died when he was electrocuted at work in a  44-story midtown office building Wednesday night, fire and police officials  said.  Emergency responders found  the repairman unconscious and in cardiac arrest, a fire official said.  But  he died less than 30 minutes later, according to a police source.
“He’s  dead,” a fire source at the scene said. “He was lying on live  wires.”
Building workers said the man had been employed for the past five  years by the Schindler Group – a company that develops, installs and services  elevators and escalators, according to its website – which contracts with the  building to supply in-house mechanics to keep up with repairs.
“He has  three kids, it’s horrible,” said one coworker said. “He was a very nice guy. He  was hardworking and smart,” he said of his fallen friend. “But no one knows what  happened.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mechanic-electrocuted-elevator-manhattan-office-building-article-1.1052532#ixzz1qWQmFsvr

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