Family sues Hilton for negligence after man dies

The family of a man who died from electrical shock at the Hilton Houston Westchase Hotel in Houston, Texas, has filed a lawsuit against the hotel citing negligence of “epic proportions” reports Global Travel Industry News.

Raul Hernandez, who was staying at the hotel with his mother, brother, girlfriend and daughter during the annual Labour Day weekend on September 6, came to the rescue of his 11-year old brother who suffered convulsions as the pool lights came on in the evening.

Noticing his brother struggling near the pool lights at the deep end, Hernandez jumped in hoisted his little brother from the pool before succumbing to the electric shocks from the faulty pool fixture.

Emergency personnel at the scene failed to resuscitate Hernandez despite CPR and he was pronounced dead at the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center.

According to court documents filed by the family’s attorneys, the death was due to “gross negligence of epic proportions”. Attorneys said the accident could have been prevented if the hotel had installed ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which would have cut off power to the pool lights in case of an electrical malfunction. The documents also revealed that Hilton Westchase has not met applicable electrical codes for several years, while the contractor installed new equipment without receiving proper permits from the authorities.

“Not only has the family lost Raul, who was nearing graduation from college and seeing his dreams become reality, they will live with the trauma from witnessing his awful death, as well as the guilt of not being able to save him,” said the family’s attorney, Stephen Loftin.