A guest sustained burns from a shower at the Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky, according to a lawsuit.
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(CNN) — A jury awarded $2 million to the estate of a man who died months after being “scalded and severely burned” by water from a shower in his Kentucky motel room, according to a lawsuit.
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Alex Chronis, then 76 years old, sustained third-degree burns on his body at the Econo Lodge in Erlanger, Kentucky, which ultimately resulted in his “untimely and wrongful death,” on June 19, 2022. according to the complaint filed by Chronis’ niece.
On November 19, 2021, Chronis attempted to take a shower but was “almost immediately bombarded with scalding hot water which knocked him to the floor of the shower tub where the water continued to scald him,” the complaint states.
Two associates of Chronis rushed to his aid after hearing his fall and screams, according to the complaint.
The shower delivered water at an “extremely excessive temperature,” the complaint stated. The temperature was more than 150 degrees, according to Chronis’ family attorney, N. Jeffrey Blankenship. Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150-degree water for two seconds, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Chronis, a food vendor visiting the Cincinnati region for work, initially used nonprescription medicine for his burns before working at a local festival, according to Blankenship. He went to a nearby hospital but left to return to work, Blankenship added.
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Two days later, Chronis returned to the hospital for skin graft surgery and remained hospitalized for nearly five months, according to the complaint.
In April 2022, Chronis was transferred to a rehabilitation facility in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, Blankenship said. He spent months in the hospital after the incident, underwent numerous medical procedures, and endured “substantial conscious pain and suffering” before ultimately dying from his injuries on June 19, 2022, according to the complaint.
The jury found the motel owner, Sanjay Patel, “failed to exercise ordinary care in inspecting and maintaining their hotel rooms in a reasonably safe condition for the use of their guests,” according to the trial order and judgment.
According to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website, Patel owns Aspyn, LLC, which operates the Econo Lodge in Erlanger, which was also named as a defendant in the suit.
The judgment, filed on July 3, awarded Chronis’ estate nearly $1.3 million to cover medical expenses, $250,000 for pain and suffering, more than $16,000 for funeral costs, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
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CNN has reached out to Patel’s attorney, Lindsay Rump, for comment.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT)—A worldwide technology outage impacted healthcare entities across the nation Friday. Several of our hospitals and clinics in the Commonwealth were no exception.
One of those directly affected is UK HealthCare.
“We have a team that is used to handling things like this, so we got a call around 2:00 a.m.,” said Dr. Mark Hoffman, UK HealthCare’s Chief Medical Officer. “Incident command was set up, and that’s when the problem was first identified, and we all came in and got to work.”
Hoffman says the outage is primarily impacting providers’ workstations, where they document information or make orders.
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“That system, for the most part, with limited disruption, was usable through most of this, but the number of workstations we were able to use was decreased by the outage,” he said.
With fewer workstations, hospital staff have had to cancel elective procedures and prioritize certain departments, such as the ICU and labor and delivery.
“We have to be thoughtful in our decision-making and how we plan for things like this. This is not the first time we’ve had to deal with something like this. We do drills and we have systems built to prepare us for when these things happen,” Hoffman added.
In addition to UK Healthcare, other local hospitals, including Baptist Health and CHI St. Joseph Health, are making statements about this outage:
FRANKFORT, Ky. — On Thursday, July 18, lawmakers spoke with members of the state’s court system about an issue they say has been going on for three years.
What You Need To Know
Vine, or victim information and notification everyday, is a system Kentucky’s court system used for 14 years to notify victims about their offenders
The system is still used by the Department of Corrections to notify about incarceration status
But it hasn’t been used for court hearings since 2021
Lawmakers said they were “dismayed” the system hasn’t been in use and urged for it to be fixed
Kentucky victims aren’t being notified about their offenders’ whereabouts in court.
Vine, or victim information and notification everyday, is a system Kentucky’s court system used for 14 years to notify victims about their offenders.
Judge Chris Cohron said during the committee meeting that in some situations, it has saved victim’s lives.
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“It is not unusual for me during a criminal docket to inquire of the commonwealth: has the victim been notified of this hearing? Is the victim aware of the resolution in this case? We’re wanting to make sure,” Cohron said.
The system is still used by the Department of Corrections to notify about incarceration status
But it hasn’t been used for court hearings since 2021. Katie Comstock,executive director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, said that’s because, at the time, her office became concerned about allowing Appriss access to all court data.
Appriss, which administered the program, has since been bought by Equifax.
“We help victims and their families become safer and more informed through timely offender release, court cases and protective order notifications,” said Ali Mock, director of government relations for Equifax.
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Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, questioned Comstock about what they delay has been on getting a notification system up and running.
“At the end of the day, this is now three years the court system has decided to stop notifying our people. It’s their responsibility to do it and they’re not doing it,” Nemes said. “This is a problem that should have been fixed. It has not been fixed. I don’t know how much more we can express our dismay.”
Comstock said the office of the courts has had recent discussions with Equifax about a path forward to start notifying again victims about court hearings.
Equifax says it could have the system up and running in 45 days if it’s allowed access to data. Comstock said it would cost $500,000 for a one time implementation fee, and another $360,000 for a service fee for the first 12 months.
“I want to emphatically reiterate that our organization does not retain search history, or engage in any unauthorized use of registered victim information,” said Jarrod Carnahan, vice president of government and Victim Services for Equifax.
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However, the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council is also working on its own case management system. Comstock said it might be better for the courts to rely on this system.
“The prosecutors’ new system, it’s undoubtedly an option for providing court notification to victims. We already share many data points with prosecutors,” Comstock said.
Currently, prosecutors are notifying victims themselves through phone calls and texts.
“As a case manager, calling folks on a regular basis can get tedious, and so if there is a way we can expedite making sure there is some type of automated system,” said Rep. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville.
Members of the committee agreed it’s not the most efficient use of time.
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Equifax says, in 2023, individuals conducted more than 1.2 million searches using Kentucky Vine. And more than 200,000 people registered for notifications.
Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary June 2024 unemployment rate was 4.6%, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS).
The preliminary June 2024 jobless rate was unchanged from May 2024 and up 0.5 percentage points from one year ago.
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for June 2024 was 4.1%, which was up from the 4% recorded for May 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, are based upon estimates from the Current Population Survey of households. The survey is designed to measure trends in the number of people working and includes jobs in agriculture and individuals who are self-employed.
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Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,047,682 in June 2024, an increase of 6,945 individuals from May 2024. The number of people employed in June increased by 6,868 to 1,952,975 while the number unemployed increased by 77 to 94,707.
“Kentucky labor force continued to grow in June,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark, Ph.D. “While more people entering the labor force might be expected to push the unemployment rate up as more workers compete for jobs, the commonwealth’s unemployment rate has held steady at 4.6% for the third month. This occurred because people are finding work at roughly the same rate as they are entering the workforce.”
In a separate federal survey of business establishments that excludes jobs in agriculture and people who are self-employed, Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased by 2,100 jobs to 2,044,900 in June 2024 compared to May 2024. Kentucky’s nonfarm employment was up 25,700 jobs or 1.3% compared to June 2023.
“Kentucky’s employers continued adding workers to their payrolls in June,” said Clark. “While the rate of job growth did slow from recent months, month-to-month employment changes are fairly volatile. So, this does not necessarily reflect a change in the trend.”
Nonfarm data is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics program. According to the survey, employment increased for five of Kentucky’s major nonfarm North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) job sectors in June 2024, decreased for five, and was unchanged for one.
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The educational and health services sector rose by 2,000 positions in June 2024. Employment in the health care and social assistance subsector increased by 1,600 jobs from May to June. The educational services subsector gained 400 jobs. Since last June, this sector has grown by 17,000 jobs or 5.6%.
Employment in the trade, transportation and utilities sector increased by 1,600 positions from May to June but was down 1,100 jobs or 0.3% compared to a year ago. In June, the wholesale trade subsector added 500 jobs; transportation, warehousing and utilities subsector added 600 jobs; and the retail trade subsector added 500 jobs.
The other services sector was up by 400 jobs from May to June. This sector had 1,500 more positions in June 2024 compared to June 2023. This sector includes repairs and maintenance, personal care services and religious organizations.
Kentucky’s manufacturing sector increased by 200 jobs from May 2024 to June 2024. The durable goods manufacturing subsector lost 100 positions, but these loses were more than offset by a gain of 300 jobs in the non-durable goods subsector. Kentucky’s manufacturing employment was down 1,100 positions or 0.4% compared to June 2023.
Jobs in the financial activities sector rose by 100 positions from May 2024 to June 2024 and was down 1,200 jobs from June 2023. All these gains occurred in the real estate, rental and leasing subsector. Employment in the finance and insurance subsector was unchanged.
Employment in Kentucky’s information services sector did not change from May to June. The industries in this sector include traditional publishing as well as software publishing; motion pictures and broadcasting; and telecommunications. The number of jobs in this sector was down 1,000 from one year ago.
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The number of jobs in the state’s mining and logging sector was down 100 from May to June. This sector had 600 more jobs in June 2024 compared to June 2023.
Employment in Kentucky’s professional and business services sector fell by 200 jobs or 0.1% in June 2024. From May to June, employment rose by 600 jobs in the professional, scientific and technical services subsector; fell by 100 jobs in the management of companies subsector; and fell by 700 jobs in the administrative, support and waste management subsector. The sector was up 1,100 positions compared to June 2023.
Construction employment was down 300 jobs or 0.3% from May 2024 to June 2024 and up 3,700 positions or 4.1% from one year ago.
Employment in the government sector dropped by 500 jobs from May 2024 to June 2024. The number of jobs decreased by 100 in federal government; increased by 200 in state government; and decreased by 600 in local government. The total number of government jobs rose by 4,600 positions or 1.5% compared to June 2023.
The leisure and hospitality sector lost 1,100 positions in June, a decline of 0.5%. This sector reported 1,600 more jobs in June than one year ago. The accommodations and food services subsector was down by 800 positions in June. The arts, entertainment and recreation subsector decreased by 300 jobs from May to June.
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Civilian labor force statistics include nonmilitary workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks.
Kentucky’s statewide unemployment rate and employment levels are seasonally adjusted. Employment statistics undergo sharp fluctuations due to seasonal events, such as weather changes, harvests, holidays, and school openings and closings. Seasonal adjustments eliminate these influences and make it easier to observe statistical trends. However, due to the small sample size, county unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
To learn more about Kentucky labor market information, visit kystats.ky.gov.
