Background: The Fairfield Inn & Suites San Jose Airport in San Jose, Calif. (Google Maps). Inset: Terril Johnson (photo from lawsuit).
The family of a California man who died the night before he planned to see his granddaughter graduate from college is suing the hotel where he suffered fatal burns in the shower.
According to the lawsuit obtained by The Mercury News, Terril Johnson, 77, had driven from his home in Los Angeles to San Jose to watch his granddaughter”s graduation from San Jose State University. On May 22, the night before the ceremony, Johnson checked into the Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel near the San Jose Airport and took a shower. The lawsuit stated that the shower water was so hot that Johnson was “effectively boiled alive.”
His grandson found him unresponsive in the shower. Johnson never regained consciousness.
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The lawsuit, which was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Oct. 15, stated that when Johnson’s family came to help him, “the water was so dangerously hot they could not initially lift him from the tub. As they struggled desperately to save him, they were forced to watch in horror as his skin peeled away from his body.”
Newsweek also obtained the lawsuit, which said that when Johnson’s family members found their loved one still “partially submerged” in the water, “they could not touch him without burning themselves.”
First responders pronounced Johnson dead at the scene. An autopsy stated that he died as a result of “severe scalding burns” to more than 30% of his body. His high blood pressure was also a factor in his death.
According to the lawsuit, the water temperature coming out of the shower at the Marriott International-owned hotel was 135 degrees Fahrenheit, well over the 120-degree maximum allowed by California’s Plumbing Code, The Mercury News reported. Water temperatures that high can cause third-degree burns in mere seconds.
The lawsuit stated that it was not known exactly how long Johnson was in the shower before he was found by his grandson. According to the lawsuit, he was discovered “within minutes” of getting into the water.
The Johnson family, including Johnson’s widow, to whom he was married for 54 years, is suing Marriott International for wrongful death and emotional distress. Marriott International did not immediately respond to a request for a comment from Law&Crime.
Law&Crime also reached out to the attorneys representing the Johnson family, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
