Tag Archives: Guest Health

by | October 14, 2012 · 7:07 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Washington Restaurant Closed Down By Health Department After Confirmation Of Salmonella Poisoning

“…(the Health Department) closed the restaurant this morning as a further precaution to reduce the risk of Salmonella spreading to others. Our staff is interviewing employees and patrons to learn more about the possible source of this outbreak, such as a contaminated food source.”

The Clark County Public Health Department is closing the On the Border Mexican restaurant in Vancouver, Washington after an outbreak of Salmonellaamong patrons. The restaurant is located at 1505 SE 164th Avenue. So far, there are 11 confirmed cases and 5 probable cases associated with this outbreak. Public health officials are asking that anyone who ate at the restaurant between September 20 and October 8, 2012 and experiencing symptoms of salmonellosis contact a health care provider.

The symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning include diarrhea, which may be bloody, fever, chills, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. People usually become ill one to three days after infection. Attorney Elliot Olsen said, “facilities that sell food are supposed to ensure that their product is safe. Food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria is not fit to eat.”

Since Salmonella infections can spread person-to-person, government officials are stressing the need for thorough hand-washing after using the bathroom, and before and during food preparation. Anyone who is ill should stay home and not prepare food until their symptoms have disappeared.

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2012/vancouver-wa-mexican-restaurant-on-the-border-closed-after-salmonella-outbreak/

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by | September 27, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: "Wrongful Death" Lawsuit Filed Against Illinois Hotel For Legionnaire's Disease Outbreak Tied To Fountain In Lobby

“…Health officials tied the outbreak to the main fountain in  the hotel lobby. The plaintiff …alleges the  hotel didn’t properly maintain the fountain and said the company neglected to  prevent visitors from walking near the fountain when the hotel should have known  about the bacteria…”

The family of a Florida man who died after catching  Legionnaire’s disease at a Loop hotel has filed a wrongful death suit against  Marriott International. Luis Enrique Acevedo Muro was one of three people who died  after being exposed to Legionella bacteria at the JW Marriott Chicago Hotel, at  151 W. Adams St., according to the lawsuit and public health officials.

Acevedo Muro, of Key Biscayne, Fla., contracted Legionnaire’s  disease after  staying at the hotel from Aug. 1 to Aug. 3, the suit claims. He  died Aug. 14.

The eight-count suit, filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit  Court,  claims wrongful death and survival action against Marriott and   Chicago-based developer The Prime Group, Inc.  It seeks an unspecified  amount in  damages. Neither company could be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

Legionnaires’ disease is contracted by breathing in mist or  vapors from water contaminated with the Legionella bacteria and usually develops  two to 14 days after exposure. It frequently begins with headache, high fever  and chills, and progresses by the second or third day to include a cough, chest  pain and shortness of breath.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/legionnaires-disease-outbreak-chicago-hotel-marriot-171439911.html#ixzz27g7k8GHy

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by | August 28, 2012 · 6:17 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Health Department Confirms Deaths Of Two Chicago Hotel Guests After Exposure To Bacteria Causing Legionnaires' Disease

“…Health officials said Monday that two people have died of Legionnaires’ disease after being exposed to the bacteria that causes it at the JW Marriott Hotel…”

Last week, the hotel issued a warning to all recent guests, and began the complicated process of notifying the 8,500 guests who stayed there from July 16 through Aug. 15 that they may have been exposed to the bacteria known to cause serious and sometimes fatal bacterial infections, ABC Chicago reports.

The bacteria, Legionella, spreads through the inhalation of contaminated water vapor, and can cause Legionnaire’s disease, a severe form of pneumonia, Fox Chicago reports. Symptoms include headache, chills, chest pain and fever.

The disease often mirrors regular pneumonia, and can only be confirmed by a urine test, infectious disease expert Dr. John Segreti told CBS Chicago. Dr. Kathy Ritger with the Department of Public Health told WBEZ that not all exposures lead to illness, but any recent guests experiencing respiratory problems should seek medical attention.

For more:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/legionnaires-outbreak-kil_n_1834616.html

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by | August 22, 2012 · 6:56 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Chicago Hotel Is Confirmed As Source For Three Cases Of Legionnaires' Disease

The city and the hotel are notifying the 8,500 guests who stayed there from July 16 through Aug. 15. Authorities say they’ve identified the source of the bacteria and there’s no ongoing health risk.

Health officials say they are investigating three confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ (LEE’-juh-nares) disease among people who stayed at a Chicago hotel. The Chicago Department of Public Health and the JW Marriott Chicago Hotel issued an advisory Tuesday. They say guests with symptoms who stayed at the Adams Street hotel should contact their doctors.

Symptoms include headache, high fever, chills, cough, chest pain and shortness of breath.

The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease grow in water and can spread through vapor in air-conditioning ducts or mist from a whirlpool spa.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/21/4745192/legionnaires-disease-linked-to.html#storylink=cpy

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by | August 12, 2012 · 7:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Sued By Nine Guests Claiming They Contracted Meningitis From Hotel Pool; Suit Seeks Damages For Premises Liability And Negligence

“…The plaintiffs claim the hotel failed to sanitize the pool, fill it with clean water, use purification chemicals or “obtain proper certification of health & safety codes to reopen pool and water park facilities after pool closure.”

They seek medical costs, damages and punitive damages for premises liability, negligence, gross negligence, public nuisance and loss of consortium.

Nine people claim they contracted meningitis and/or other deadly diseases two years ago from a pool at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort in Carlsbad. Lead plaintiff Gerald Green claim that during their stay in August 2010 the hotel failed to properly sanitize its family swimming pool. Plaintiff claim that hotel staff told them later that “the pool had been closed due to prior fecal or other form of contamination.”

“Plaintiffs were caused to sustain severe personal injuries, including, but not limited to symptoms of fever, headache, myalgias [muscle pain], vomiting and diarrhea, resulting in diagnoses to include meningitis and aggravated multiple sclerosis,” the complaint states.
Meningitis is a potentially fatal disease caused by inflammation of the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis, which causes damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord, is a debilitating disease with no known cure.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/08/06/49015.htm

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by | June 19, 2012 · 6:18 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Oregon Hotel Sued For $26,000 By Guest Sickened By Hollandaise Sauce Served At Breakfast

“…(the hotel’s owner) settled complaints by two people in the outbreak…negotiations on the Stanley case deadlocked, prompting Falkenstein to file a lawsuit earlier this month in Multnomah County Circuit Court…(since becoming ill) he has racked up nearly $14,000 in medical expenses, according to the lawsuit. He is seeking to recover those expenses plus at least $26,000 in noneconomic damages…”

According to a state outbreak investigation, the 83-year-old six-term commissioner from North Carolina was one of seven people sickened after breakfast that morning at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Northeast Portland. All of them ate eggs benedict. An eighth person, who ordered eggs benedict but had the hollandaise sauce on the side and didn’t consume it, felt fine.  No one else got sick, pointing to the hollandaise sauce as the culprit.

But lab tests confirmed that Stanley — and another person hospitalized in the outbreak — were sickened by a strain of Staphylococcus aureus,  a bacterium commonly found on the skin and in the noses of healthy people. Certain strains produce toxins that can spark quick and acute gastro-intestinal symptoms.

Dr. Mathieu Tourdjman, lead Oregon epidemiologist investigating the outbreak, said the sauce became toxic because it was not kept hot enough. Unlike many other pathogens, the toxins produced by Staph cannot be killed by cooking. The only way to prevent foodborne Staph infections is by thorough hand washing and proper cooking. Food safety advocates recommend keeping cooked food warm at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

For more:  http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/06/portland_visitor_says_hotels_h.html

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by | June 9, 2012 · 1:13 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Texas Hotel Temporarily Closed After Legionnaires' Disease Diagnosis

The SuperMedia Hotel and Conference Center, a hotel near the Dallas airport, closed temporarily this week after a guest was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease. It is not yet known if the guest contracted the disease at the hotel or elsewhere, but the hotel closed temporarily while tests are being conducted.

“A guest at the hotel attached to SuperMedia’s offices was treated for Legionnaires’ disease and released from a nearby hospital. After the one case was initially reported to us, we took the precautionary step of asking our employees to work from alternate locations while the appropriate tests were being conducted. No other cases have been reported and we don’t know that this case originated from the hotel,” Andrew Shane, a  SuperMedia spokesperson, told Food Poisoning Bulletin.

Legionnaires’ Disease is a lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria which got its name when a number of people attending a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia came down with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2012/legionnaires-case-shuts-down-dallas-hotel/

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by | April 21, 2012 · 6:46 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: California Hotel Sued For $6 Million By Man Who Contracted Legionnaires' Disease From Hotel's Water System; Tests Confirm Bacteria Sickened Six People Resulting In One Death

“…In October 2011, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene confirmed the Legionella bacteria was present in water collected from various locations at the Plim Plaza. Six people were sickened with Legionnaires’ disease; one of them later died…”

The lawsuit alleges that the hotel was negligent in its failure to “adequately inspect, monitor and maintain” its water system.

(The Plaintiff)…went on to spend six weeks in the hospital, during which he experienced renal failure, septic shock and respiratory failure, according to the complaint. His medical bills exceeded $200,000 by the time he was discharged on Sept. 24.

A Virginia man who contracted Legionnaires’ Disease in Ocean City last summer is suing the Plim Plaza Hotel for $6 million.

Virginia resident Pat Eldon Dent Jr., and his wife, Martha Dent, filed a lawsuit against the historic Boardwalk hotel in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on April 18. The lawsuit, which names Plim Plaza Hotel Inc. and the Hale and John Harrison Partnership as defendants, seeks $5 million for negligence and $1 million for loss of consortium.

The lawsuit alleges the hotel’s water system was contaminated with unsafe levels of the Legionella bacteria while Dent and his wife stayed there between July 29, 2011, and Aug. 1, 2011. After returning to his home on Aug. 1, Dent began to feel feverish and on Aug. 10 was admitted to Winchester Medical Center and diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, according to the seven-page complaint filed by Rockville attorney Ronald Karp.

For more:  http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120421/WCT01/204210346/Virginia-man-who-contracted-Legionnaires-files-lawsuit-against-OC-hotel

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by | March 19, 2012 · 8:26 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel Evacuated After Guests Exposed To Carbon Monoxide; Boiler Room Thought To Be Source

“…several people from the hotel went to a hospital on their own and nobody was seriously hurt. He says the individuals apparently had similar symptoms, such as nausea and headaches, leading hospital personnel to contact the fire department…”

Part of a Dallas-area hotel has been evacuated after some people got sick from possible carbon monoxide exposure.

Wilson says carbon monoxide possibly was detected in a hotel boiler room. A clerk who answered the phone said the front desk area had been declared safe. Warning alarms could be heard in the background.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/19/3819780/part-of-irving-hotel-evacuated.html#storylink=cpy

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by | February 8, 2012 · 7:36 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Texas Hotel Sued Over "Toxic Mold" In Room That Sickened Guest

“…the defendants “knew or should have known that the dangerous condition, toxic mold, existed on said premises, but failed to warn and/or failed to correct the said dangerous condition…the toxic mold caused the plaintiff’s personal injuries and property damage in question,” the suit says…”

Friendswood resident Stacy Johnson is suing Park Management Group and Sun Suites Interests alleging she was sickened by toxic mold in a hotel room.

Johnson’s lawsuit, filed Feb. 1 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 1, alleges the plaintiff fell ill on Aug. 3, 2010, as a result of toxic mold found in a room at Sun Suites of Clear Lake in Houston.

Park Management Group was responsible for the safety and habitable state of the rooms at the property in question while Sun Suites Interests owned said property, the suit says.

The original petition shows subsequent tests confirmed that the mold was in Johnson’s room and it was recommended that she not stay in the room.

For more:  http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/241622-woman-sues-hotel-claiming-toxic-mold-made-her-sick

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