Tag Archives: Pools

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 | September 27, 2013 · 5:46 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Florida Hotel Group To Place “Lifeguards And Fences” At Pools During “All Open Hours”; Move Follows Death Of 13-Year Old Boy In March

“…Lifeguards will be on duty at all times while the pools are open…But guests will no longer be permitted to swim in the feature pools after Hotel Pool Drowing Riskshours. Disney plans to install fences around any of those pools that are not already gated, a process that will begin in the coming months as hotels roll through their regular renovation cycles…(the move follows) the death of 13-year-old Anthony Johnson, who was pulled from a pool at Disney’s Pop Century Resort at about 9:30 p.m. on March 10…(he) died two days later at Florida Hospital Celebration…”

Walt Disney World says it will begin stationing lifeguards at its largest hotel pools during all operating hours and then locking them down overnight, six months after a young boy drowned while a pool was unguarded. Disney says its largest and most popular “feature” pools will begin opening at either 7 a.m. or 9 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m.

Only smaller and unguarded “quiet” pools at some hotels will remain accessible at all hours. Disney has about two dozen hotels and time-share resorts across its sprawling property.

“These changes make it easier for guests to understand when our pools are open and when a lifeguard is present,” Disney World spokeswoman Bernadette Davis.

Disney would not say whether a specific event triggered the move. Though that pool was open from 7 a.m. until 11 pm., lifeguards were only on duty from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Disney said it had posted signs warning that guests who chose to swim while the pool was unguarded did so at their own risk.

For more:  http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-09-26/business/os-disney-locking-swimming-pools-20130926_1_walt-disney-world-pools-lifeguards

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by | September 24, 2013 · 5:46 am

Hospitality Industry HazMat Risks: South Carolina Hotel Guests Evacuated, Hospitalized After Exposure To Pool Chemical Fumes; Employee Accidently Mixes Muriatic Acid And Chlorine

“…The area where the chemicals were mixed (was) isolated…one of the two chemicals was muriatic acid (and) the other chemical was Hotel Pool Chemical HazMat Riskschlorine (that) were mixed by an employee of the hotel by accident, creating the strong fumes that affected the employees and guests…One of the 12 transported by EMS was an employee of the hotel, but the other eleven were guests. An additional six people were treated at the hotel, but did not require further medical attention…”

The overnight nursing supervisor at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center confirmed all 14 patients who were being Hazardous Materials Teamtreated for respiratory issues following an accidental chemical mixture have been discharged from the hospital. Bob Derr, a Battalion Chief with the City of Myrtle Beach Fire Department confirmed the Hazmat situation was reported after two chemicals were mixed together in the pool maintenance area under the hotel the Landmark Resort at 1501 South Ocean Boulevard, affecting both guests and employees.

Twelve people have been taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center by EMS, and two more drove themselves. All 14 were presenting respiratory issues. Battalion Chief Derr suggested more guests could be transported if they started to show signs of respiratory distress.

Crews did not evacuate the hotel completely. The lower floors were cleared as a precaution.

For more:  http://www.wistv.com/story/23509101/crews-respond-to

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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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by | December 21, 2012 · 6:56 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: New Jersey Hotel "Not Responsible" For Near-Drowning Of Guest; Jury Finds Pool Area "Complied With State Law"

“…the attorney for the hotel owner, said the pool area complied with state law and asked the jury to consider pool safety No Lifeguard Signthe responsibility borne by Robert Smith and his daughter when they entered the pool…”

A jury in Hackensack on Thursday determined that a hotel owner was not responsible for a near-drowning that left a Georgia man brain-injured after he tried to rescue his daughter from the hotel’s swimming pool.

The family of Robert A. Smith sued Ratan R. Park, LLC., owner of the Ramada Inn in Rochelle Park, for damages after Smith was overcome by water on July 4, 2009, when he tried to rescue his 11-year-old daughter, Brianna, after she drifted into the pool’s deep end.

Smith remains in a nursing home with permanent brain injuries that an attorney for Smith’s family said were the direct result of negligence by the hotel’s owner.

In the trial before Superior Court Judge Charles Powers, Attorney Greg Haddad had argued that the pool’s depth markings were inaccurate, its bottom was steeper than it should have been and the hotel owner failed to provide a “life line” separating the pool’s deep and shallow ends, presenting a “perfect storm” for guests who couldn’t swim.

Neither Smith nor his daughter could swim, and O’Hara in closing arguments on Wednesday in state Superior Court told the jury in the civil case that “both had a duty to exercise reasonable care; they had an obligation to make reasonable observations.”

For more:  http://www.northjersey.com/news/Jury_absolves_Rochelle_Park_hotel_of_responsibility_in_near-drowning_in_pool.html

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by | January 6, 2012 · 12:09 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Risks: Small Boy Drowns In A Michigan Hotel Hot Tub; Father Had Left Child In Care Of 14-Year Old

“… a 3-year-old boy, who was with his father and several other children in the pool and hot tub area,  drowned…he was sitting on the ledge of the hot tub, when the father went back up to the room to retrieve something…”

“… a 14-year-old friend of the family was put in charge of watching the children…”

Soon after the father went back to the room, the children decided to get into the pool and lost track of the 3-year-old, according to Southfield Police Lt. Nick Loussia.

“Nobody saw the 3-year-old fall in,” Loussia said. “When the father came back, he saw the kids in the pool, looked in the hot tub and saw the 3-year-old in the hot tub.”

The father pulled the boy out and began performing CPR while hotel staff called 911. Paramedics and police responded to the scene and transported the boy to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where he was pronounced dead.

For more:  http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/01/05/news/local_news/doc4f05e52249ad0488717383.txt

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by | December 10, 2011 · 8:18 am

Hospitality Industry Pool Risks: Hotel Pools And Spas Are Not Considered Safe If "Drain Covers Are Broken, Missing Or Cracked" (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRLG0iICT4w]

 

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by | December 8, 2011 · 6:54 am

Hospitality Industry Swimming Pool Risks: Hawaii Hotel Owner Must Face Trial Over "Near Drowning And Incapacitation" Of Woman

“Under Hawai’i law, a landowner has a duty to use reasonable care for the safety of all persons reasonably anticipated to be on the premises….Further, Hawai’i courts recognize that a hotel has a ‘special relationship’ with its guests […] to protect the latter against unreasonable risk of physical harm.”

     “…Court precedent found in 2010 with Robbins v. Marriott Hotel Services establishes that hotels may have to take extra steps to warn guests about “an open and obvious danger.”

 Royal Lahaina did not have an on-duty lifeguard, only a sign that said, “Warning: No Lifeguard on Duty,” according to the complaint.

A California travel agency must face a trial to determine whether it is liable for the near drowning of a woman who used a hotel pool despite a sign that alerted guests there was no lifeguard on duty, a federal judge ruled.

Song Meyong Hee is now “incapacitated” and “a vegetable,” after sinking in a Royal Lahaina Resort swimming pool and suffering severe hypoxia, according to the complaint filed by Song’s husband and children.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/06/42001.htm

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by | December 4, 2011 · 11:17 am

Hospitality Industry Pool Risks: Florida Hotel Employees Hospitalized After Exposure To "Hazardous Chemicals"

Two Orlando hotel employees have been taken to the hospital after being exposed to pool cleaning chemicals that were incorrectly mixed.

Orange County Fire Rescue officials said two employees at the Vistana Villages Resort moved the chemical container to a safe area away from hotel guests on Saturday. But officials said the employees were injured in the process

Firefighters wore special hazardous material protective gear as they spent more than two hours cleaning up the chemicals.

No hotel guests were injured. Fire rescue resources were also sent to help the hospital to make sure the patients were properly decontaminated so they didn’t expose other patients.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/04/2531128/fla-hotel-workers-exposed-to-pool.html#ixzz1fatfwCeQ

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by | September 24, 2011 · 6:18 pm

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel Pool Guests Face Outbreaks Of "Acute Gastrointestinal Illness" As "Cryptosporidium" Parasite Proves Chlorine Resistant

Outbreaks of illness related to recreational water exposure have increased substantially in recent years, largely because of the emergence of Cryptosporidium, according to a CDC report.

In the years 2007/2008, 74% of cases of acute gastrointestinal illness associated with recreational water exposure were caused by this parasite, and in all but two of the outbreaks the venue was a treated-water facility such as a chlorinated swimming pool.

The dominance of Cryptosporidium in treated recreational water facilities “is related to its chlorine tolerance, which allows it to survive in properly chlorinated recreational water for longer than ten days,” the agency stated in the Sept. 23 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

For more:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/PublicHealth/28692

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