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A Marine veteran and grandfather has died after being scalded by hot water in a California hotel shower, a lawsuit alleges.
The Oct. 15 wrongful death lawsuit said the water reached 134 to 136 degrees Fahrenheit as Terril Johnson showered at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites San Jose Airport, according to the filing obtained by Fox News Digital.
The water temperature was said to be above the state’s 120-degree limit for individual showers, resulting in burns covering more than 33% of Johnson’s body, according to the medical examiner’s report.
Johnson, 72, had traveled from Los Angeles to San Jose on May 22 to attend his granddaughter’s college graduation at San Jose State University.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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The lawsuit contends the hotel failed to maintain safe water temperatures in violation of California plumbing codes.
The attorney for the Johnson family, Paul Traina, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that, “as you can imagine, the entire Johnson family continues to suffer deeply from the tragic loss of Terril Johnson, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.”
“Their grief is compounded by the fact that Mr. Johnson was the beloved patriarch of the family, and that his death was the result of a preventable incident that should never have occurred. The family seeks justice for their loss. They also hope that this case will lead to meaningful changes that prevent similar tragedies from happening to others in the future,” Traina added.
Marriott Americas and Marriott International did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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