04-08-2025
Tourist's life-changing injuries 'after swimming in filthy hotel pool'
Alexis Williams, 23, went for a swim at the Residence Inn Downtown Ann Arbor Hotel while staying in Michigan - but hours later she was struck down with 'excruciating pain', her lawyers say
A woman suffered horrific injuries after swimming in an untreated hotel pool, her lawyers say.
Alexis Williams, 23, was visiting her grandma while she was undergoing medical treatment in Michigan in June and had decided to stay at the nearby Residence Inn Downtown Ann Arbor Hotel.
While there, she and her cousins went for a swim in the hotel's pool - but soon became violently ill, she claims. Alexis says she later found out that scraping her knee while swimming had led her to contract a rare infection known as MRSA - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It comes after a man claimed 'I died for seven minutes in hospital - here's exactly what I saw on the other side'.
The infection is particularly dangerous because it's resistant to most antibiotics - which means it can spread easily to the point it becomes a threat to life. Just hours after taking a dip, Alexis was struck down with "excruciating" pain and found herself unable to walk.
Speaking to Fox 2 Detroit, she explained: "It was outrageous. The pain was excruciating. I had to get poked a lot with a whole bunch of needles, and being prescribed medications I never thought I'd be prescribed to."
What followed was three gruelling rounds of surgery on her leg and the intravenous administration of potent antibiotics, her lawyer Ven Johnson said.
Alexis - who now receives constant medication through an IV, and even needs a walker to move around - was terrified doctors would amputate her leg. "I've gone through a lot of pain and suffering, and still currently am," she told the Detroit Free Press. "I'm very frightened, very nervous and just appalled by everything."
After making a request to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Alexis' lawyers learned of the disgusting condition of the pool. Her lawyers said inspections from June 12, June 27 and July 8 showed neither chlorine no bromine had been put in the water.
The case centres around claims the hotel was fully aware the swimming pool "had a Standard Plate Count that exceeded 200 CFU/ml". This reading would indicate a "dangerous level of bacteria present in the swimming pool and poor disinfection", the complaint reads.
Alexis' legal team alleges the hotel disregarded public safety and was aware of the unsafe environment it had created for guests. "Alexis started developing this infection within several hours of coming into contact with this water," Michael Freifeld, one of her attorneys, told the Detroit Free Press.
"We have no doubt, given the records we have and the experts that we are going to hire, that the infection Alexis experienced, and is experiencing, was clearly connected to the pool."
Mr Freifeld said doctors warned they may have to amputate her leg if the infection is not brought under control by her current treatments. "For anybody, let alone a 23-year-old young person, it's a very scary, uncertain prognosis," Mr Johnson said.
Alexis and her team are seeking $25,000 (£18,820) in damages
The Mirror has contacted the owner of the Residence Inn for further comment.
