Feb. 21–A class action lawsuit has been filed against the operators of a Linthicum hotel following a carbon monoxide leak last weekend that sent nearly a dozen people to area hospitals.
Attorney Donald Discepolo filed the lawsuit in Anne Arundel Circuit Court Tuesday on behalf of Baltimore resident Merletha McKisset, 58, and every other weekend guest of the Westin Baltimore Washington Airport hotel who was exposed to high carbon monoxide levels.
McKisset is asking hotel operator and manager Brentwood BWI One, LLC, to pay $75,000 in compensatory damages for each hotel guest. She also is asking for Brentwood to pay the costs of all medical testing and monitoring, in an amount to be determined at the trial.
The lawsuit claims negligence by Brentwood, saying the company failed to maintain a safe environment for its guests.
County Fire Department investigators determined the carbon monoxide came from a malfunctioning flue control on a water heater in a hotel laundry room.
“When they offer a room to rent, they have a duty to make sure that the hotel is safe,” Discepolo said in a statement. “In this situation, we believe they breached that duty because they weren’t taking care of the venting system in the laundry.”
Brentwood and Westin management officials could not be reached for comment.
Discepolo claims Brentwood was aware of the flu-like symptoms being reported by guests and employees before firefighters were called to the hotel at 1:30 p.m. Sunday for an employee who was feeling faint.
Brentwood had a duty to inspect, manage and/or repair the hot water heater and the venting system to make sure it was operating safely and correctly, according to the lawsuit.
Had Brentwood inspected the water heater and venting system, the malfunction would have been discovered and high levels of carbon monoxide wouldn’t have been released into the hotel, the suit claims.
Carbon monoxide levels in the building were as high as 700-800 parts per million Sunday afternoon, said Division Chief Keith Swindle said, fire department spokesman.
Sustained carbon monoxide concentrations greater than 150- to 200-parts-per-million can lead to disorientation, unconsciousness or death, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The probability of death is based on several factors, including time of exposure, age and state of health.
Most people won’t experience symptoms from prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide levels ranging from 1 part per million to 70 parts per million unless they have a heart condition, the commission said. Those patients may experience chest pain.
As carbon monoxide levels move above 70 parts per million, symptoms become more noticeable, with patients experiencing headaches, fatigue and nausea.
Twenty people were evaluated at the scene Sunday after the seven-story, 260-room hotel was evacuated.
Four hotel employees were transported to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for hyperbaric chamber treatment. The chambers help rid the bloodstream of carbon monoxide, Swindle said.
Four other employees and one guest were taken to other area hospitals. McKisset went to an area hospital on her own and her exposure to the gas was confirmed, according to the lawsuit. She was experiencing headaches, sluggishness, nausea and fatigue.
“We all could have been dead,” McKisset said in a statement released by Discepolo.
The Westin did not have carbon monoxide detectors, Swindle said. It was built in 2007, but carbon monoxide detectors for new hotels only became mandatory in 2013, he said. Prior to 2013, the detectors were only recommended.
