(KRON) – A grandfather was “boiled alive” and died while showering in his San Jose hotel room after being exposed to scalding 136-degree water, according to a new lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Circuit Court.
Terrell Wade Johnson, a 77-year-old Navy veteran, traveled with his family from Los Angeles to the Bay Area to attend his granddaughter’s graduation from San Jose State University in May. What should have been a time of celebration turned into a “horrific and completely avoidable tragedy,” the wrongful death lawsuit says.
The lawsuit was filed by the law firm Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP against the Fairfield Inn & Suites San Jose Airport, located at 1755 North First Street.
“On May 22, 2025, Terrell entered the bathroom of his hotel room and never came out alive,” the lawsuit states. The victim’s grandson found Johnson unresponsive and partially submerged in water on the bathroom floor. The scorching water was still running.
When more family members rushed to rescue him, “the water was so dangerously hot that they couldn’t get him out of the tub at first. They couldn’t touch him without burning themselves,” the suit alleges.
The Santa Clara County coroner ruled Johnson’s cause of death as severe burns, according to attorneys. The water temperature in the shower was hot enough to cause third-degree burns within seconds, the lawyers wrote.
The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit include Johnson’s widow of more than fifty years, his son, his daughter-in-law, and his grandchildren. The defendants named in the lawsuit are Hanford Hotels, which owns and operates the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites San Jose Airport, the hotel where Johnson died.
The lawsuit alleges that the hotel allowed deadly conditions to exist in guest rooms, with water temperatures dangerously high in violation of industry standards and California safety laws.
“This was not a freak accident, but rather the direct result of defendants’ gross negligence and failure to meet even basic safety obligations,” the attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
Johnson was born on June 11, 1947, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After graduating from high school, he joined the US Marine Corps and served in the Vietnam War. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Johnson became a father of two. He worked for 23 years as a lead technician for the Los Angeles Metro Authority until his retirement in 2024.
The lawsuit filed on October 15 demands a jury trial.