CHARLESTON – A Warwick, R.I., woman is suing Holiday Inn Express for the Jan. 31 gas leak that caused her husband's death from carbon monoxide poisoning while he was at the hotel.
Manisha Patel, the general manager of the hotel; Steve Combs; Karen Combs; Premier Pools, LLC; Holiday Hospitality Franchising, Inc.; Intercontinental Hotels Group Resources, Inc.; Six Continents Hotels, Inc.; and Intercontinental Hotels Group, PLC were also named as defendants in the suit.
On Jan. 31 William Moran, 44, was a paying guest at the hotel when his room became "contaminated and polluted with carbon monoxide to a level of toxicity that caused him to die," according to a complaint filed March 14 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Louise J. Moran claims since her husband was a paying guest, he was entitled to a safe and proper room that was free and clear of dangers, such as toxic substances.
Steve Combs, Karen Combs and Premier Pools negligently did repairs or replacement to the pool heater at the hotel, which resulted in the carbon monoxide being leaked into the guest rooms, including William Moran's room, according to the suit.
Louise Moran claims each of the defendants created and maintained a dangerous condition at the Holiday Inn Express in South Charleston, "such that it amounted to a nuisance and it was dangerous to the health and safety of the guests who rented and purchased rooms from the hotel defendants."
The defendants were also negligent in carelessly and wrongfully maintaining the hotel without devices which reasonably could detect the presence of carbon monoxide in such amounts that it could cause injury and death and could warn the guests that they were in danger, according to the suit.
There were problems with the hotel's pool heater in December 2011 and Premier Pools' Steve Combs finished installing the new pool heater on Dec. 27 and 28. The gas leak that caused William Moran's death was found to have come from the disconnected pipe used to ventilate the pool heater.
Louis Moran is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is being represented by Marvin W. Masters and Max Wistow.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tod J. Kaufman.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-469
