I spent last week on the road as I often do. I checked into a "Hotel" Tuesday afternoon, a handicapped accessible room. Since my Translab, I always request and, have stayed in handicapped accessible rooms primarily for the Safety Handrails in the Bathroom & Shower. No problem to this point.
Wednesday morning while I was preparing to head out for the day, I couldn't help but notice that the sink was clogged very badly and would not drain. As I made my way to the dining room for breakfast, I reported the clog to the front desk. The clerk acknowledged the clog and said it would be reported to maintenance for repair. That evening, I briefly checked the sink before heading out to dinner. The clog had been fixed.
Thursday morning I again went through my morning routine in preparation for the day. After a few minutes at the sink, I felt my toes were getting wet. The pipes below the sink were leaking and, as water does, it followed the path of least resistance in the tile grout lines and had completely surrounded me. Without looking down or around me, I instinctively stepped back in an attempt to get out of the pooling water. When I did, I slipped and fell, landing on my tailbone and hitting the back of my head on the bathtub, which was directly behind me. I was startled by the fall and like we do, actually looked around to see if anyone was looking (they weren't) and got to my feet as quickly as I could and turned off the water. My head was throbbing pretty good at that point and I had aggravated an old back injury; a herniated disc at L5 & S1. I used a large bath towel to dry the floor and left it on the floor in front of the sink to stop the flow of water while I finished getting ready.
When hotel maintenance cleared the clog, they created a whole new issue by not properly tightening the "pea trap" fittings below the sink causing it to leak. Of course I reported this to the front desk and also completed an incident report with the hotel General Manager. She said that she was surprised this was apparently caused by a person that had been on their maintenance staff for nine years.Satisfied they would properly address the issue I went about my business. To my surprise, when I returned to the room after dinner Thursday evening, the leak hadn't been repaired.
I video taped the leaking underside of the sink and also the wet floor. Friday morning, I reported the unaddressed leak to the Hotel GM. All she could do was apologize and suggest that she'd look into the situation and why it hadn't been addressed by maintenance. Friday afternoon, while I was driving home from the Airport here in Atlanta, I was contacted by the Hotels Insurance Company. The claims agent had many questions for me, including wanting my Social Security Number. I didn't answer any of them, rather informing her that I already secured counsel who would be in touch with them.
I've since edited the video and provided it to the Milwaukee area attorney I found on my iPhone while I was waiting for my flight home on Friday. The attorney tells me at a minimum the hotel is guilty of "Premises Liability (Slip & Fall) - Negligence." When I spoke to the attorney this morning, she asked if I'd like to sue for damages. I told her to do what she thought was right and proper. She responded by saying "in that case you'll be able to pay off the mortgage on your home when we're done with them. They knew there was a safety issue and did nothing to resolve it, a classic case of negligence!"
By the way, the pipes below the sink weren't wrapped like they're supposed to be in a handicapped accessible room to protect wheel chair bound guests from potential bumping injury and burns from hot pipes.
My back still hurts and the headaches are daily and persistent. I have an appointment to see my Neurosurgeon this afternoon for a checkup.
Watch where you step!
Take Care!
Doc
