Terril Johnson had traveled to San José in May to see his granddaughter graduate from San José State the next day and jumped into the hotel shower after a long drive from Los Angeles.
But instead of a relaxing shower, family members allege, the 72-year-old was “effectively boiled alive” by scalding water that a medical examiner said ultimately resulted in his death, according to a lawsuit filed against the hotel. When his grandson went into the bathroom to check on him, he allegedly found Johnson unconscious, partially submerged in water that was so hot his family couldn’t pull him out without burning themselves.
Family members tried to help Johnson and perform CPR, but, according to court filings, they struggled and “were forced to watch in horror as his skin peeled away from his body.”
Johnson’s family filed the suit on Oct. 15 against Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites San Jose Airport, alleging wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
According to the suit, the Santa Clara County medical examiner ruled Johnson’s cause of death to be severe scalding due to burns on more than 33% of his body.
Marriott International officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Johnson had traveled on May 22 with family from Los Angeles to San José to attend his granddaughter’s graduation.
Johnson had retired the previous year after working as a senior lead technician at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Johnson, according to the suit, was born in Indiana and, after serving in Vietnam with the Marine Corps, moved to California.
He married his high school sweetheart, and they were married for 54 years. He had two children and four grandchildren.
When relatives found him in the hotel bathroom, the suit alleges, the temperature of the water was 134 to 136 degrees.
“The water was so dangerously hot they could not initially lift him from the tub,” the suit states.
According to the California Plumbing Code, individual shower and tub showers are limited to a temperature of no higher than 120 degrees.
“This was not a freak accident,” the suit alleges. “It was the direct result of Defendant’s gross negligence and failure to meet even basic safety obligations.”
