Latest news with #WallaceHunter
STV News
11 hours ago
- STV News
Family of man scalded to death in bath slam hotel's maintenance failures
The family of a man who was scalded to death in a bath has slammed the maintenance failures of the Perthshire hotel. Wallace Hunter, 75, a retired precision engineer, died from 83% burns after going for a shower on the final day of a coach trip with his wife to the Pitlochry Hydro Hotel in December 2019. Efforts to rescue him were hampered by the fact that the bathroom door opened outwards, bolted on the inside, and had no exterior emergency release as would be the case in new buildings. When it was finally opened, Mr Hunter, from Eaglesham, was found in a bath of water so 'scalding' that when a police officer tried to pull out the plug, it came away in his hands. Firefighters had to wear protective gloves to lift him out. A Fatal Accident Inquiry concluded that the hotel's maintenance failures played a crucial part in the death of the 75-year-old. Staff received a number of complaints regarding the temperature of the water. A previous guest of room 221 described the shower's temperature control as 'iffy'. Facebook/Pitlochry Hydro Hotel The incident took place at the Pitlochry Hydro Hotel The complaints were never completed in a logbook, meaning no action was taken. The inquiry noted that the bath's thermostatic mixing valve (TMV), which allows both hot and cold water to mix, was faulty. The FAI also stated that Mr Hunter may have been saved if the bathroom door lock had been accessible from the outside. A number of precautions, including annual maintenance work on bath taps, analysis of guest complaints and the fitting of bathroom lock releases, were laid out in the inquiry. Mr Hunter's family say the ruling is the 'most difficult thing' they have ever read. In a joint statement, son Keir and his daughter Kimberley said: 'It describes in full detail our Dad's excruciating and drawn out final moments but also shines a light on the fact that his death could and would have been avoided had the hotel used qualified maintenance staff and had the most basic of maintenance regimes in place for its hot water supply. 'The fault which caused our father's death had been complained about by many previous guests and was well known to the hotel management. 'They ignored these warnings. We are frankly appalled that this hotel was allowed to open its doors to the public in 21st-century Scotland.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Grandfather, 75, who died after becoming trapped in a scalding hot hotel room bath may have lived if old taps had been replaced, inquiry finds
A grandfather who died after getting trapped in a scalding hot hotel room bath may have lived had the old taps been replaced, an inquiry has found. Wallace Hunter, 75, was staying at the Pitlochry Hydro in Perthshire, Scotland when he became stuck in the tub. Guests and emergency services desperately tried to smash in the door but were unable to open it in time as it was bolted from the inside and opened outwards. The pensioner was eventually found lying unresponsive in the bath with water running that was so hot firefighters and police had to wear gloves to get him out. He died from third degree burns to 83 per cent of his body. Now Sheriff John MacRitchie has told a fatal accident inquiry at Alloa Sheriff Court that Mr Hunter's death in December 2019 could have been avoided had the annual tap checks been carried out. He added that a 'full analysis' should have been conducted by the hotel after other guests complained about the water temperature. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the mixer tap was more than 30 years old, the probe heard. Its temperature control was 'very sensitive' and did not satisfactorily isolate the hot water when the cold water shut off. In a written judgment, Sheriff MacRitchie said: 'At the time when it was first realised that Mr Hunter was having difficulty in operating the tap, he was conscious and able to describe to Mrs Hunter that he was having these difficulties. 'He was still conscious and making sounds after Ms Cespedes had come from reception and gone up to the second floor and into Room 211. 'In those circumstances, there remains a real and lively possibility that Mr Hunter had not, by the time his difficulties in shutting off the tap had become known to Mrs Hunter, reached the stage yet of his having been subjected to the excessive water temperatures that resulted in his being fatally scalded. 'It is correct to state that it is not possible to definitively state whether earlier rescue would have resulted in Mr Hunter's survival. 'However, because it is known that Mr Hunter remained conscious for a significant period of time without any indication that he was being scalded, after he stated that he was having difficulty turning off the tap, there remains the real and lively possibility that had Mrs Hunter or others been able to enter the bathroom and assist Mr Hunter from the bath and/or turn off the tap at an earlier time Mr Hunter may have survived.' The sheriff added: 'The lessons learned from the death of Mr Hunter should now be utilised to prevent such events from happening again elsewhere, and the findings of this inquiry should alert all hotels or other establishments to recognise the real potential for such a fatal scalding to take place, and to analyse relative risk accordingly.' He also concluded that Mr Hunter's death could have been prevented by doors which opened from the outside. The sheriff said: 'The lessons learned from the death of Mr Hunter should now be utilised to prevent such events from happening again elsewhere, and the findings of this inquiry should alert all hotels or other establishments to recognise the real potential for such a fatal scalding to take place, and to analyse relative risk accordingly.' The inquiry heard Mr Hunter, who had a mild cognitive impairment, was very independent but suffered a lack of confidence around technology. It's not known why he became trapped in the bath, as scalding water gushed from the tap but he had been able to communicate with his wife. A guest in the bedroom below spotted water pouring down their bathroom mirror and contacted reception. The former manager of the Pitlochry Hydro hotel told the inquiry that replacement locks with a safety release would have only cost an estimated £80 a room. The Daily Mail has approached Pitlochry Hydro for comment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Pensioner's hotel scalding death could have been prevented
The death of a pensioner who was fatally scalded after being trapped in a Perthshire hotel room bath could have been avoided, an inquiry has ruled. Wallace Hunter died at the Pitlochry Hydro in 2019 after being trapped in the bath, while guests and emergency services tried to smash in the door. A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) found that the failure of safety components in the unmaintained bath tap caused Mr Hunter to accidentally discharge scalding water into the bath in which he was lying. The hotel is under new ownership following the collapse of Specialist Leisure Group in 2020. Mr Hunter's family said the judgement was "the most difficult thing we have ever had to read". His son Keir previously described the 90-minute effort to rescue his father as "a horror story." Efforts to help the 75-year-old from Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, were hampered by the door opening outwards and being bolted from the inside. Sheriff John MacRitchie ruled that Mr Hunter's death could have been avoided if there had been annual maintenance of the bath tap and "a more formal analysis of guest complaints about the discharge of excessively hot water in the hotel bathrooms." The sheriff said: "These defects on the balance of probabilities contributed to the death and the accident resulting in the death of Mr Hunter. "It is reasonable to infer that the lack of, not just annual, but any maintenance of the tap and its components did in fact contribute to the death." The sheriff added that the fitting of a bathroom door lock release, operable from the bedroom, would have allowed emergency access to the bathroom to remove Mr Hunter from the water and could also have prevented his death. The inquiry heard that all bathrooms at the hotel with outward-opening doors have now had their locks removed completely. My dad died after being scalded in a hotel bath Inquiry into man's death after hotel bath scalding Mr Hunter was staying at the hotel with his wife Janice at the time of the incident in December 2019. He was found to have suffered third-degree burns to 83% of his body after fire crews finally managed to break down the door. The inquiry heard that a Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the mixer tap in the bathroom was more than 30 years old. Its temperature control was "very sensitive", and it did not satisfactorily isolate the hot water when the cold water shut off. The inquiry heard that a number of complaints about the controls, high temperatures, "boiling hot" showers or lack of cold water were recorded in the hotel maintenance log in the nine months leading up to Mr Hunter's death. In a joint statement issued by Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, Mr Hunter's son Keir and his daughter Kimberley said: ''The sheriff's judgement is the most difficult thing we have ever had to read. "It describes in full detail our dad's excruciating and drawn-out final moments but also shines a light on the fact that his death could and would have been avoided had the hotel used qualified maintenance staff and had the most basic of maintenance regimes in place for its hot water supply. "The fault which caused our father's death had been complained about by many previous guests and was well known to the the hotel management. "They ignored these warnings." Glen Millar, a partner with the legal firm, said: "I have been involved in some of Scotland's highest-profile fatal cases over the years but I fail to recall any where a death has resulted from such a litany of avoidable failures. "It is clear that what happened to Mr Hunter could have happened to any one of the many elderly guests who stayed at the hotel in the years leading up to this tragedy. "It is to be hoped that the judgement will now lead to swift settlement of the separate civil action the family have had to raise at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.''
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Family of dad scalded to death in boiling bath slam hotel management for 'ignoring warnings'
Wallace Hunter, who had dementia, was found unresponsive in the boiling water in December 2019. The family of a dad who was scalded to death in a hotel bathroom have blasted management who ignored safety "warning signs". Wallace Hunter, 75, a retired precision engineer, was staying at Pitlochry Hydro Hotel in Perthshire when he became trapped in a bath while his wife packed their bags on the final day of their trip in December 2019. However, shortly afterward, a guest in the bedroom below raised the alarm after witnessing hot water " cascading ' down his walls. His wife and a group of other guests tried to break the door down but were hampered by it being bolted from the inside. Mr Hunter, from Eaglesham in Renfrewshire, was found unresponsive and submerged in scalding water that was so hot firefighters and police had to wear gloves to tolerate the temperature. He died from third-degree burns to 83 per cent of his body. A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) has identified a catalogue of avoidable safety failings and defects of working which could have prevented the tragedy from taking place. It heard that in the weeks prior to the accident, hotel staff received multiple complaints about the water being too hot in a number of rooms. In the same room Mr and Mrs Hunter were staying in, two guests raised concerns over water being discharged from the bathroom taps as being "iffy" and "too hot". Neither of the complaints were ever signed off or completed in a logbook held by maintenance staff - meaning no further action was taken. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the bath's thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) - which mixes cold and hot water to deliver a safe and consistent temperature - was faulty. The FAI further heard that Mr Hunter, who suffered from dementia, would have struggled to use the excessively stiff and overly sensitive temperature control dial on the bath. And had the bathroom door lock in his room been accessible from the outside, efforts to rescue the pensioner would have stood a much greater success. The probe set out a list of precautions the hotel could have taken to prevent Mr Hunter's death. They included having annual maintenance work completed on bath taps, a formal analysis of guest complaints and the fitting of bathroom door lock releases. In a joint statement Mr Hunter's son, Keir and his daughter, Kimberley said of the FAI determination: ''The Sheriff's judgement is the most difficult thing we have ever had to read. "It describes in full detail our dad's excruciating and drawn out final moments but also shines a light on the fact that his death could and would have been avoided had the hotel used qualified maintenance staff and had the most basic of maintenance regimes in place for its hot water supply. "The fault which caused our fathers death had been complained about by many previous guests and was well know to the the hotel management. They ignored these warnings. We are frankly appalled that this hotel was allowed to open its doors to the public in 21st century Scotland." Glen Millar, a partner with Thompsons Solicitors Scotland who acts for the Hunter family, said: "I have been involved in some of Scotland's highest profile fatal cases over the years but I fail to recall any where a death has resulted from such a litany of avoidable failures. "It is clear that what happened to Mr Hunter could have happened to any one of the many elderly guests who stayed at the hotel in the years leading up to this tragedy."
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Pensioner's hotel scalding death could have been prevented
The death of a pensioner who was fatally scalded after being trapped in a Perthshire hotel room bath could have been avoided, an inquiry has Hunter died at the Pitlochry Hydro in 2019 after being trapped in the bath, while guests and emergency services tried to smash in the door.A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) found that the failure of safety components in the unmaintained bath tap caused Mr Hunter to accidentally discharge scalding water into the bath in which he was hotel is under new ownership following the collapse of Specialist Leisure Group in 2020. Mr Hunter's family said the judgement was "the most difficult thing we have ever had to read".His son Keir previously described the 90-minute effort to rescue his father as "a horror story." Efforts to help the 75-year-old from Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, were hampered by the door opening outwards and being bolted from the John MacRitchie ruled that Mr Hunter's death could have been avoided if there had been annual maintenance of the bath tap and "a more formal analysis of guest complaints about the discharge of excessively hot water in the hotel bathrooms."The sheriff said: "These defects on the balance of probabilities contributed to the death and the accident resulting in the death of Mr Hunter. "It is reasonable to infer that the lack of, not just annual, but any maintenance of the tap and its components did in fact contribute to the death."The sheriff added that the fitting of a bathroom door lock release, operable from the bedroom, would have allowed emergency access to the bathroom to remove Mr Hunter from the water and could also have prevented his inquiry heard that all bathrooms at the hotel with outward-opening doors have now had their locks removed completely. Mr Hunter was staying at the hotel with his wife Janice at the time of the incident in December was found to have suffered third-degree burns to 83% of his body after fire crews finally managed to break down the inquiry heard that a Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the mixer tap in the bathroom was more than 30 years temperature control was "very sensitive", and it did not satisfactorily isolate the hot water when the cold water shut inquiry heard that a number of complaints about the controls, high temperatures, "boiling hot" showers or lack of cold water were recorded in the hotel maintenance log in the nine months leading up to Mr Hunter's death. In a joint statement issued by Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, Mr Hunter's son Keir and his daughter Kimberley said: ''The sheriff's judgement is the most difficult thing we have ever had to read."It describes in full detail our dad's excruciating and drawn-out final moments but also shines a light on the fact that his death could and would have been avoided had the hotel used qualified maintenance staff and had the most basic of maintenance regimes in place for its hot water supply."The fault which caused our father's death had been complained about by many previous guests and was well known to the the hotel management. "They ignored these warnings."
