A tragic incident has occurred involving a Marine veteran and grandfather who passed away after being severely burned by hot water in a hotel shower in California, according to a lawsuit.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed on October 15, claims that the shower water at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites San Jose Airport reached temperatures between 134 and 136 degrees Fahrenheit while Terril Johnson was showering, as reported by Fox News Digital.
These temperatures exceeded California’s legal limit of 120 degrees for individual showers, resulting in burns that covered over a third of Johnson’s body, as detailed in the medical examiner’s report.
The 72-year-old Johnson had traveled from Los Angeles to San Jose on May 22 to celebrate his granddaughter’s graduation from San Jose State University.
Following the lengthy six-hour drive, Johnson entered the hotel shower. His grandson later discovered him unconscious and partially submerged in the water.
After a six-hour drive, he entered the hotel shower, and his grandson reportedly found him unconscious and partially submerged.
The water was allegedly so hot that family members could not pull him out without burning themselves.
During attempts at CPR, they “were forced to watch in horror as his skin peeled away from his body,” the filing states.
Terril Johnson was visiting San Jose for his granddaughter’s college graduation.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner ruled Johnson’s cause of death as severe scalding, with the suit alleging that Johnson was “effectively boiled alive.”
Family members, including Johnson’s son, daughter-in-law, and three granddaughters, witnessed the incident and are included in court documents.
“This was not a freak accident,” the suit claims. “It was the direct result of Defendant’s gross negligence and failure to meet even basic safety obligations.”
Johnson, an Indiana native, served in Vietnam with the Marines before moving to California.
He retired as a senior lead technician at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority and had been married to his high school sweetheart for 54 years. He is survived by two children and four grandchildren.
The lawsuit contends the hotel failed to maintain safe water temperatures in violation of California plumbing codes. (Google Maps)
Attorney Paul Traina, representing the Johnson family, said it is unclear exactly how long Johnson was exposed to the scalding water, but said it had been only “a short time.”
The lawsuit contends the hotel failed to maintain safe water temperatures in violation of California plumbing codes.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Johnson family’s attorney and Marriott Americas for comment.
