44-year-old Male Pre-Trial Detainee in Correctional Facility Burned by Scalding Hot Jail Shower

Type of Injury: Thermal Burns

Type of Case: Settlement

Settlement Amount: Confidential (Client’s Request)

Jurisdiction: Superior Court of King County, Seattle, Washington.

44-year old male was a pre-trial detainee in the King County Correctional Facility ("KCCF" or "King County Jail"). On May 27, 2019, at or near approximately 11:08am, M-44 sustained burns from excessively hot water while taking a shower at the King County Jail. The aforementioned burns were on various parts of his body including, but not limited to, his left shoulder, chest, abdomen, and genitals. The two major factors that determine the extent of a burn injury are (1) the temperature of the object causing the burn (i.e., water) and (2) the time of exposure to the skin.

Research studies have shown that significant burn injury takes at least 8 to 10 minutes of skin exposure at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Moritz, AR, Henriques, FC Jr., Studies of thermal injuries: II. The relative importance of time and surface temperature in the causation of cutaneous burns, Am. J. Pathol. 1947; 23:695-720 (p710). To cause deep thermal burns within only a few seconds of skin exposure, water must reach a temperature of approximately 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the 1940’s, the recommendation (based upon animal and human experimentation documented in research studies) has always been to set a water heater in residential and commercial settings at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. See, for example, publications from the American Burn Association and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). Similarly, the American Correctional Association’s (“ACA”) Performance-Based Standards for Adult Local Detention Facilities (Fourth Edition) require that “[w]ater for showers is thermostatically controlled to temperatures ranging from 100 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.” A thermal scald burn from water at 156-degrees Fahrenheit can create a burn in one (1) second.

Following the shower incident, King County recorded the water temperature from the subject shower as 158-degrees Fahrenheit. Following the incident, M-44 told one of the nurses with the King County Jail Health Services (“JHS”), which runs the health service for detainees at King County Jail, that he estimated the “exposure to [his] left chest [lasted] for 3-5 second.”

Injuries: Due to the alleged negligence of the defendant, M-44 sustained significant and permanent injuries.

M-44 was represented in this highly-contested case by Craig Sandberg with his Seattle-based co-counsel, Jason Anderson and Tyler Santiago from the law firm of Anderson Santiago, PLLC.

The above summary is specific to a particular case and is not intended as a projected outcome on any other matter.