BRANSON, MO.—Three Jefferson County, Missouri, families are suing Grand Plaza Hotel in Branson, claiming the luxury hotel negligently shocked the pool, a process where strong chemicals like chlorine are used to destroy contaminants, two times while kids and adults were swimming in it. The incident transpired over Mother’s Day weekend in May 2021 when a hotel employee used a commercial-grade pool cleaner with a warning on the label: “no one can be in the pool when chemicals are being added directly to the pool,” according to the complaint. The suit states that because of the hotel’s safety failures, several children required medical attention, including one young girl who suffered permanent damage to her lungs and throat.
Despite clear warnings of fatal risks, irreversible eye damage, and skin burns on the chemical’s labels, the Grand Plaza Hotel’s maintenance staff did not give the families and other hotel guests any warnings or instructions when they applied the chemicals directly into the pool, according to the lawsuit. The swimmers immediately experienced severe adverse reactions to the harsh chemicals, including burning eyes and skin, chest tightening, bloody noses, and vomiting.
“The Grand Plaza Hotel had me fearing for the lives of my three children on Mother’s Day—a holiday meant to celebrate your children and the gift of motherhood,” says the woman cited in the complaint as D.L., mother to three of the children injured at the Grand Plaza Hotel. “It was a complete nightmare.”
No Unwinding or Relaxing
The Jefferson County families were visiting Branson for a youth baseball tournament and chose to stay at the Grand Plaza Hotel to enjoy the holiday weekend. Unfortunately, the pool and hot tub that the hotel advertised on its website as a place for guests to “unwind and relax” and to “rejuvenate [their] mind and body” did the opposite for the young families.
An investigation conducted by the Branson Police Department revealed that a hotel worker also incorrectly logged the harsh pool treatments, shocking the pool twice while guests were swimming, but recorded it only once.
“This case is a prime example of pure negligence on the part of the Grand Plaza Hotel,” says Finney Injury Law attorney Chris Finney, who represents the three families in the lawsuit. “Ignoring the clear safety warnings on pool chemical containers and maintaining inaccurate pool treatment records blatantly disregarded the health and safety of these young families.”
A copy of the complaint can be accessed here.
