Shocking treatment: Thai-American couple demands justice after electric shock in Chon Buri hotel jacuzzi

[fondue zoo]

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

There have been all kinds of pool / spa related electrocutions reported here in Thailand in the past involving hotel guests, some fatal, and other providing quite a nasty shock. Usually down to shoddy electrical work combined with water at the site.

 

Ever since I watched the move Syriana, Matt Damon's 'son' getting electrocuted due to a faulty pool light, and then our maintenance guy testing a wire with his tongue .."it tingles if it's electrics".... w????f    this has been a thing for me lately.

 

Please note our condo maintenance fellow is a great guy, very helpful, but he is going to die. Between his ladders made of old wood and gaffer tape and his questionable electrical practices the clock is ticking.

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by fondue zoo

[NokYai611]

Please be cautious in any swimming pool, particularly older pools in Thailand.  The port (normally isolated) used to vacuum (high negative pressure) is very often located on a vertical wall on the pool. In newer pools it’s inside the skimmer receptacle (much safer).
 

If someone forgets to close the port after a cleaning ……swimmers can be seriously injured.  I always check this port when in an unfamiliar pool - and yes twice I have found this port operating.  

[brianthainess]

On 9/16/2023 at 9:45 AM, JeffersLos said:

 

 

The husband was white. 

And he had straight blond hair  His wife went bald

[Road Warrior]

as retired electrician  the good standards of earthing in Thailand is almost unheard of / so good luck with your claim

[richard_smith237]

14 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

I tried an electric bath one time and got out right away, very unpleasant feeling.

 

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/08/denki-buro-electric-baths-of-japan.html

According to our resident halfwit…

Thats not possible….. ‘you either get electrocuted or you don’t’ it would be naive to think otherwise !!!!! ????????????
 

16 hours ago, steven100 said:

so after a short time she felt numb ....   bs ....   either you get electrocuted or you don't. 

she's trying the game .....   and you are naive to think otherwise

 

[TigerGuardian]

This family should consider themselves very blessed and lucky that they survived such an incident. That said, I do wonder why she entered the jacuzzi in the first place. I learned a long time ago during my career that expectant mothers were always cautioned by their GP and/or OB-GYN to either limit their time in a jacuzzi (or hot tub) to no more than ten minutes, or preferably, avoid such use all together. Water temperature that is too hot can indeed be a threat to the mother and child and not knowing if the water has been regularly tested and treated for bacteria, can have devastating consequences for everyone. 

[PingRoundTheWorld]

Trully shocking that an American would want "compensation" for what was essentially a non-issue. No injuries, the doctor bs about being electrocuted for 5 seconds is nonsense (they would've died), and their "fear of pools" can shove itself right up....

[richard_smith237]

20 minutes ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Trully shocking that an American would want "compensation" for what was essentially a non-issue. No injuries, the doctor bs about being electrocuted for 5 seconds is nonsense (they would've died), and their "fear of pools" can shove itself right up....

Trully shocking (was there an intended pun?)... that people don't identify the seriousness of this issue. 

 

IF there is no compensation and no financial accountability from the hotel then there is no incentive for them to do anything about this. 

 

Only when establishments are aware there is legal and financial risk for their lack of safety will they care enough to actually ensure adequate safety is in place.

 

This whole idea of 'compensation' protects everyone else otherwise the next person who uses that jacuzzi could end up electrocuted to death.

[steven100]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Trully shocking (was there an intended pun?)... that people don't identify the seriousness of this issue. 

 

IF there is no compensation and no financial accountability from the hotel then there is no incentive for them to do anything about this. 

 

Only when establishments are aware there is legal and financial risk for their lack of safety will they care enough to actually ensure adequate safety is in place.

 

This whole idea of 'compensation' protects everyone else otherwise the next person who uses that jacuzzi could end up electrocuted to death.

you do talk some garbage sometimes, my excuse is drink but i'm not sure what yours is ....  ????

[Captain Monday]

A long time ago I slipped getting into a jacuzzi type pool at the Ritz -Carlton. The management took it very seriously. Later they installed a handrail, where before there was none. 

 

I could say it was bad lighting. What really was the problem?  No hand rail and the first step underwater in darkness about twice as deep as normal so slashed/banged my shin on the edge. It hurt pretty bad.  They closed it for the night maybe to change out the bloody water. I ended up in Casualty. No big deal. 

 

Two suits showed up in the morning offering assistance, and a spa day. I  told them I was fine and would be hitting the ski slopes as planned.  I did not mind them taking note of that. I suggested perhaps they could reimburse the co-payment from the emergency room which was 100 dollars out of pocket, total bill over 1000. For three or four stitches. Yes, America.

 

Later they sicced a well known claims management outfit on me by phone and mail. These corporate goons were trying to assess my intentions but I took no further action. I considered it an accident.  Now feel maybe stupid because I did not milk them for an easy 50,000 USD or so. If it was an elderly or frail person?

 

Getting electrocuted to death in a 5 star resort pool / having a leg crushed on an escalator at an airport is totally avoidable with basic maintenance thus near unheard of . Of course such and accident would command a huge payout from large hotel chains and public facilities. 

 

We all pay for frivolous lawsuits in the end due to increased costs. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Captain Monday

[Captain Monday]

19 hours ago, NickyLouie said:

 

Bet that would make yer nads tingle. 

 

Not just the two veg  made the whole body tingle

I guess I could get used to it but very unnatural to feel ones chest being zapped continuously

[PingRoundTheWorld]

22 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

IF there is no compensation and no financial accountability from the hotel then there is no incentive for them to do anything about this. 

The hotel did offer to pay the hospital fees. Could they have offered a little more? sure. Should they pay a huge settlement for hurt feelings? NO! When you make a business pay a huge settlement who do you think pays it? it's other customers who have to pay higher prices later on.

[Sig]

On 9/16/2023 at 6:03 AM, FruitPudding said:

Okay, if you are saying they got electrocuted. What injury did they sustain to make you say that? They felt the electricity isn't enough.

 

I feel as though you would render the the phrase 'electric shock' obsolete, cos apparently even the slightest shock is enough for you to say electrocuted. 

I'm not claiming anything about their injuries. I'm not even saying "they got electrocuted". It's simply a question of language. It doesn't take a study in sociolinguistics or historical linguistics to know that language changes over time. The original usage from the 1800's is just how you mentioned - death. Things have changed and it is not uncommon to see the word "electrocuted" to be used in contexts of serious injury. It's not an issue to take up with me about their injuries. Ask the reporter or the claimants. We can't know anything clearly enough from the article other than taking the reporter's article and the statement that the female victim supposedly said (something to the effect that they almost died). If that's true, and there's no evidence solely from that article, to take strong stance against it, then the present day usage of "electrocute" fits, like it or not.

You say, "I feel as though you would render the phrase 'electric shock' obsolete, cos apparently even the slightest shock is enough for you to say electrocuted." Now you're just being silly and attributing things to me that are not remotely reasonable from what I said before. The definition of a word has nothing to do with me. Take it up with British and American dictionary publishers and the linguists in their employ. There are myriad other words that have changed over the past few decades, let alone the last century, as in this case.

By the way, I never said that I care for this usage. If it matters (I don't think it does), I don't care for this change in meaning and usage, but it is what it is. But there are so many toxic people in this forum picking on me for bringing up a simple issue of language, it is quite revealing! Apparently there are too many stressed out toxic individuals in need of something better to do with their lives.

[Sig]

On 9/16/2023 at 6:23 AM, bbko said:

Kudos on a smart and non-cofinational response. Your point is well taken. But to assume the worst for this case (baby brain damage, etc) is jumping the gun. We don't know how little or how "big" they were exposed to, but it sure wasn't an electrocution. 

Personally, I'm not assuming the worst for this case. I do see it as a possibility though, as I also see a possibility that the woman is exaggerating due to being so freaked out and fearful or even a tiny possibility in a more extreme case that many seem to immediately jump to in this forum - that the family is trying to take advantage of the situation to make some money out of it (many love jumping to this seriously dubious conclusion because there's an American involved and they aren't shy of their ridiculous stereotyping). At any rate, I don't believe there is anywhere near enough information in the article to be able to make a sound conclusion. There's only the statement by the woman, claiming to have almost died (or something to that effect). Of course, media/journalists always seem to want to put out the most sensational headlines to get views... so they say "electrocuted", which is not inaccurate IF there really were serious injuries. I don't care for that word being used this way, since it used to only mean that death came about by the shock. But, the meaning and usage of the word has changed over time (according to dictionaries and an online community of linguists), so... I guess we gotta get used to it.

[Sig]

On 9/16/2023 at 5:18 PM, steven100 said:

with all due respect Richard,  you don't get numb after 20 minutes of being slightly electrocuted.

You eitherget an electric shock or you don't.

It said they were in the pool for 20 minutes. It didn't say they were being slightly electrocuted for 20 minutes.

[Sig]

2 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

The hotel did offer to pay the hospital fees. Could they have offered a little more? sure. Should they pay a huge settlement for hurt feelings? NO! When you make a business pay a huge settlement who do you think pays it? it's other customers who have to pay higher prices later on.

Their insurance should cover it. It shouldn't result in higher prices for one incident.
I don't think anyone was insinuating that they should get a huge settlement for hurt feelings. There is not enough information in the article to know what might make a settlement reasonable. And it said nothing about demanding a "huge" settlement either. Apparently NONE was offered. There's a world of difference between ZERO and some kind of settlement. Maybe she and her husband would be in complete agreement with you and would be fine with "a little more" or a few days free stay. Maybe they think there is a principle involved here. Maybe they aren't complete self-serving idiots. Maybe they are highly educated and incredibly generous and even magnanimous people. Maybe there's a good reason the law has provisions for awarding personal injury cases damages for "pain and suffering". Maybe we don't have any idea what kind of pain and suffering they or their 3 year old son may be bearing. Maybe we shouldn't assume things that we don't know.

[747man]

On 9/16/2023 at 8:57 AM, mikebell said:

Why did it take so long to numb their bodies?  I thought electrocution was quicker than that?

I Think it depends on The Voltage M8.....

[richard_smith237]

21 hours ago, steven100 said:

you do talk some garbage sometimes, my excuse is drink but i'm not sure what yours is ....  ????

Nah… your excuse is clearly poor schooling & unfortunate genetics !!! 
… it’s understandable if that led to the bottle !!! ????
 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

 

On 9/17/2023 at 3:06 PM, richard_smith237 said:

IF there is no compensation and no financial accountability from the hotel then there is no incentive for them to do anything about this. 

The hotel did offer to pay the hospital fees. Could they have offered a little more? sure. Should they pay a huge settlement for hurt feelings? NO! When you make a business pay a huge settlement who do you think pays it? it's other customers who have to pay higher prices later on.

 

So you’re ok paying less at places which can avoid responsibility for lack of safety standards ? 
 

I do get your point about costs getting passed on to the consumer / customer….  Should these companies have some sort of indemnity insurance? 
 

Both electrical safety & road safety in Thailand is awful because the underlying attitudes towards those issues ranges from total avoidance of responsibility to complete apathy.

 

If the police don’t do anything to ensure laws & safety standards are followed then the only fall back we have is the risk of getting sued & public shaming, the later being very difficult because of defamation laws….
Thus, those prepared to sue or generate noise over such issues pave the way for others.

 

 

[steven100]

12 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Nah… your excuse is clearly poor schooling & unfortunate genetics !!! 
… it’s understandable if that led to the bottle !!! ????
 

haha ... good comeback Richard,   btw .. i'm just joking with ya'  nothing meant by it... just joshing ya.

always enjoy reading your opinion.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

14 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I do get your point about costs getting passed on to the consumer / customer….  Should these companies have some sort of indemnity insurance? 

The cost of insurance is, again, passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. Part of the reason the US healthcare system is so outrageously expensive is mega settlements for malpractice. While it's understandable the court wants to reward people who've been wronged - awarding $100mil to someone is dispropoprtional. Surgeons have to pay $30-50k a year just for insurance and even then in some fields they are afraid to practice.

 

I'm not saying don't compensate them if they were genuinely electrocuted and suffered injuries - but demanding compensation for hurt feelings "fear of getting into pools" is ridiculous. If there were no actual injuries then it couldn't have been that bad and they are exaggerating for a payday.

[Dont confuse me]

An obvious over reaction from the couple, Being from the USA one would have imagined that they would have heard of electrolysis spa treatments! 

A booming industry in the West, the only condition is, 'no jewellery ' to be worn.

I would imagine yhe woman's ankle bracelet and the man's divers watch would be the cause of the numbness.