In a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Santa Clara County Superior Court, family members of Los Angeles resident Terrell Johnson, 72, alleged that 136-degree hot shower water led to his death at a San Jose hotel.
Johnson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, made the six-hour trip to San Jose with his family to see his gymnast granddaughter graduate from San Jose State University on May 22.
After arriving at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites San Jose Airport, the 72-year-old opted to take a shower, which, according to the lawsuit, “literally boiled him alive,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
It was Johnson’s grandson who went to the bathroom to check on his grandfather and found him unresponsive, partially submerged in the bathtub in water so hot that family members couldn’t get him out right away.
Struggling to take measures to save his life, family members were “forced to watch in horror as his skin was separated from his body”, court documents allege.
according to Mercury NewsThe 72-year-old’s son, daughter-in-law and three granddaughters, including Trinity who was graduating the next day, were present in the hotel room at the time.
The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner determined that Johnson suffered burns to more than 33% of his body, which led to his death.
The former U.S. Marine was born in Indiana, served in Vietnam, and was married to his high school sweetheart for 54 years, with whom he has two children and four grandchildren. After his time in the Army, he moved to California and recently retired from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority where he worked as a chief technician.
California plumbing code for single shower and bathtub, according to The timesIts temperature should not exceed 120 degrees. The lawsuit alleges that the temperature of the water coming from the hotel shower ranged from 134 to 136 degrees.
“This was not a freak accident,” court documents say. “It was the direct result of the defendant’s gross negligence and failure to meet even basic safety obligations.”