Guest injured at Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Aug 16, 2018, 4:07 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 1
Guest injured at Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hi everyone
I seek your advise to help me get a fair compensation from a very prest US global hotel chain. Kindly bear with me to give you a brief background before this.
Three months ago, my wife lost her younger brother to cancer. In his last days, he was on a wheel chair and she was like a mother to him, as their mother had passed away many years ago. She went into a depression after his demise and to help her recover, I had taken my family to Kuala Lumpur for a short holiday. We stayed in the flagship hotel of this chain, a 5 star property. The property was being refurbished.
A few hours after our check-in, my wife opened the cabinet containing the mini bar and the tea/coffee maker. The wooden shutter of the unit had been made very recently and was loosely held in place by friction. There were no hinges, nor was the door locked/nailed in place to prevent it from opening. As a result, it just fell on my wife's right foot and broke it.
She screamed in pain and the hotel staff came running. Upon examining the cause of the accident, and agreeing this was a serious safety lapse on their part, the first thing they did was to instruct maintenance to remove all such unhinged doors from the cabinets in all the rooms to cover their actions and either put them flat in the cabinet or take them away completely. They also asked them to post notices on these doors to not open them. We saw three such rooms where either of this was done retrospectively. We have pictures of the various situations, including ours.
The hotel staff then took her to the local Doctor for first aid and to the hospital for further X ray investigation when her pain did not subside. They did try to make her as comfortable as possible but nothing worked. She spent all the time in the hotel on her wheel chair and could not do anything to enjoy this trip. My family too was confined to attend to her and wasted the trip. The flight back was also a torture as she could not keep her leg up and it pained while on the floor. We are back now and in-depth investigation has shown that she has tissue damage that at her age can take at least three months to heal and that too partly. She is in great pain and confined to a wheel chair even now and our home is in utter chaos without her involvement.
The irony is that being on the wheel chair is constantly reminding her of the last days of her brother, something we took the trip to forget. I do not know how long this ordeal will continue for her.
I write to you to solicit your help in working out a just and fair compensation to us. The gesture from the hotel to reimburse us the cost of our stay through Goodwill reward points is not enough, as there are so many other costs of time, travel, loss of pay and physical and mental trauma costs involved for the trip and also during our long recovery phase at home.
Detailed investigations back at home in Bangalore, India have shown that this injury will never heal due to her age and her Fibromylagia condition. She will have this pain lifelong. I can provide with any evidence related to this.
I seek your advice on:
1. How to get adequate compensation from the chain.
2. What can be considered adequate compensation in this case.
3. Is it worth going legal? Or is an off court settlement better?
4. Where should I sue? US, Malaysia or India. What can be the legal reward and at what cost?
Kindly revert to me with your views. Thanks for your help.
I seek your advise to help me get a fair compensation from a very prest US global hotel chain. Kindly bear with me to give you a brief background before this.
Three months ago, my wife lost her younger brother to cancer. In his last days, he was on a wheel chair and she was like a mother to him, as their mother had passed away many years ago. She went into a depression after his demise and to help her recover, I had taken my family to Kuala Lumpur for a short holiday. We stayed in the flagship hotel of this chain, a 5 star property. The property was being refurbished.
A few hours after our check-in, my wife opened the cabinet containing the mini bar and the tea/coffee maker. The wooden shutter of the unit had been made very recently and was loosely held in place by friction. There were no hinges, nor was the door locked/nailed in place to prevent it from opening. As a result, it just fell on my wife's right foot and broke it.
She screamed in pain and the hotel staff came running. Upon examining the cause of the accident, and agreeing this was a serious safety lapse on their part, the first thing they did was to instruct maintenance to remove all such unhinged doors from the cabinets in all the rooms to cover their actions and either put them flat in the cabinet or take them away completely. They also asked them to post notices on these doors to not open them. We saw three such rooms where either of this was done retrospectively. We have pictures of the various situations, including ours.
The hotel staff then took her to the local Doctor for first aid and to the hospital for further X ray investigation when her pain did not subside. They did try to make her as comfortable as possible but nothing worked. She spent all the time in the hotel on her wheel chair and could not do anything to enjoy this trip. My family too was confined to attend to her and wasted the trip. The flight back was also a torture as she could not keep her leg up and it pained while on the floor. We are back now and in-depth investigation has shown that she has tissue damage that at her age can take at least three months to heal and that too partly. She is in great pain and confined to a wheel chair even now and our home is in utter chaos without her involvement.
The irony is that being on the wheel chair is constantly reminding her of the last days of her brother, something we took the trip to forget. I do not know how long this ordeal will continue for her.
I write to you to solicit your help in working out a just and fair compensation to us. The gesture from the hotel to reimburse us the cost of our stay through Goodwill reward points is not enough, as there are so many other costs of time, travel, loss of pay and physical and mental trauma costs involved for the trip and also during our long recovery phase at home.
Detailed investigations back at home in Bangalore, India have shown that this injury will never heal due to her age and her Fibromylagia condition. She will have this pain lifelong. I can provide with any evidence related to this.
I seek your advice on:
1. How to get adequate compensation from the chain.
2. What can be considered adequate compensation in this case.
3. Is it worth going legal? Or is an off court settlement better?
4. Where should I sue? US, Malaysia or India. What can be the legal reward and at what cost?
Kindly revert to me with your views. Thanks for your help.
Aug 16, 2018, 4:16 am
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
I’m sorry for your experience, and I think you should consult a lawyer in Malaysia. This may not be easy, but you are dealing with complicated medical expenses and procedures, and I suspect you will get nowhere by pleading with Sheraton or Starwood/Marriott.
Moderator alerted to move to the appropriate forum.
Moderator alerted to move to the appropriate forum.
Aug 16, 2018, 6:21 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,482
......I seek your advice on:
1. How to get adequate compensation from the chain.
2. What can be considered adequate compensation in this case.
3. Is it worth going legal? Or is an off court settlement better?
4. Where should I sue? US, Malaysia or India. What can be the legal reward and at what cost?
Kindly revert to me with your views. Thanks for your help.
1. How to get adequate compensation from the chain.
2. What can be considered adequate compensation in this case.
3. Is it worth going legal? Or is an off court settlement better?
4. Where should I sue? US, Malaysia or India. What can be the legal reward and at what cost?
Kindly revert to me with your views. Thanks for your help.
I read that you live in India and injury was in Malaysia. You likely need to sue in Malaysia to fully recover what is due.
Aug 16, 2018, 8:18 am
#4
Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ*G, Mar LTT, Hyatt Glb, AA LTG, LY, HH, IC, BA, DL, UA SLV
Posts: 12,018
Did you have travel insurance?
Aug 16, 2018, 9:00 am
#5
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
Programs: SPG LT Plat, Hilton G,Priorty Club G, AC E
Posts: 2,979
I had a similar issue at a Sheraton....
Hi everyone
I seek your advise to help me get a fair compensation from a very prest US global hotel chain. Kindly bear with me to give you a brief background before this.
Three months ago, my wife lost her younger brother to cancer. In his last days, he was on a wheel chair and she was like a mother to him, as their mother had passed away many years ago. She went into a depression after his demise and to help her recover, I had taken my family to Kuala Lumpur for a short holiday. We stayed in the flagship hotel of this chain, a 5 star property. The property was being refurbished.
A few hours after our check-in, my wife opened the cabinet containing the mini bar and the tea/coffee maker. The wooden shutter of the unit had been made very recently and was loosely held in place by friction. There were no hinges, nor was the door locked/nailed in place to prevent it from opening. As a result, it just fell on my wife's right foot and broke it.
She screamed in pain and the hotel staff came running. Upon examining the cause of the accident, and agreeing this was a serious safety lapse on their part, the first thing they did was to instruct maintenance to remove all such unhinged doors from the cabinets in all the rooms to cover their actions and either put them flat in the cabinet or take them away completely. They also asked them to post notices on these doors to not open them. We saw three such rooms where either of this was done retrospectively. We have pictures of the various situations, including ours.
The hotel staff then took her to the local Doctor for first aid and to the hospital for further X ray investigation when her pain did not subside. They did try to make her as comfortable as possible but nothing worked. She spent all the time in the hotel on her wheel chair and could not do anything to enjoy this trip. My family too was confined to attend to her and wasted the trip. The flight back was also a torture as she could not keep her leg up and it pained while on the floor. We are back now and in-depth investigation has shown that she has tissue damage that at her age can take at least three months to heal and that too partly. She is in great pain and confined to a wheel chair even now and our home is in utter chaos without her involvement.
The irony is that being on the wheel chair is constantly reminding her of the last days of her brother, something we took the trip to forget. I do not know how long this ordeal will continue for her.
I write to you to solicit your help in working out a just and fair compensation to us. The gesture from the hotel to reimburse us the cost of our stay through Goodwill reward points is not enough, as there are so many other costs of time, travel, loss of pay and physical and mental trauma costs involved for the trip and also during our long recovery phase at home.
Detailed investigations back at home in Bangalore, India have shown that this injury will never heal due to her age and her Fibromylagia condition. She will have this pain lifelong. I can provide with any evidence related to this.
I seek your advice on:
1. How to get adequate compensation from the chain.
2. What can be considered adequate compensation in this case.
3. Is it worth going legal? Or is an off court settlement better?
4. Where should I sue? US, Malaysia or India. What can be the legal reward and at what cost?
Kindly revert to me with your views. Thanks for your help.
I seek your advise to help me get a fair compensation from a very prest US global hotel chain. Kindly bear with me to give you a brief background before this.
Three months ago, my wife lost her younger brother to cancer. In his last days, he was on a wheel chair and she was like a mother to him, as their mother had passed away many years ago. She went into a depression after his demise and to help her recover, I had taken my family to Kuala Lumpur for a short holiday. We stayed in the flagship hotel of this chain, a 5 star property. The property was being refurbished.
A few hours after our check-in, my wife opened the cabinet containing the mini bar and the tea/coffee maker. The wooden shutter of the unit had been made very recently and was loosely held in place by friction. There were no hinges, nor was the door locked/nailed in place to prevent it from opening. As a result, it just fell on my wife's right foot and broke it.
She screamed in pain and the hotel staff came running. Upon examining the cause of the accident, and agreeing this was a serious safety lapse on their part, the first thing they did was to instruct maintenance to remove all such unhinged doors from the cabinets in all the rooms to cover their actions and either put them flat in the cabinet or take them away completely. They also asked them to post notices on these doors to not open them. We saw three such rooms where either of this was done retrospectively. We have pictures of the various situations, including ours.
The hotel staff then took her to the local Doctor for first aid and to the hospital for further X ray investigation when her pain did not subside. They did try to make her as comfortable as possible but nothing worked. She spent all the time in the hotel on her wheel chair and could not do anything to enjoy this trip. My family too was confined to attend to her and wasted the trip. The flight back was also a torture as she could not keep her leg up and it pained while on the floor. We are back now and in-depth investigation has shown that she has tissue damage that at her age can take at least three months to heal and that too partly. She is in great pain and confined to a wheel chair even now and our home is in utter chaos without her involvement.
The irony is that being on the wheel chair is constantly reminding her of the last days of her brother, something we took the trip to forget. I do not know how long this ordeal will continue for her.
I write to you to solicit your help in working out a just and fair compensation to us. The gesture from the hotel to reimburse us the cost of our stay through Goodwill reward points is not enough, as there are so many other costs of time, travel, loss of pay and physical and mental trauma costs involved for the trip and also during our long recovery phase at home.
Detailed investigations back at home in Bangalore, India have shown that this injury will never heal due to her age and her Fibromylagia condition. She will have this pain lifelong. I can provide with any evidence related to this.
I seek your advice on:
1. How to get adequate compensation from the chain.
2. What can be considered adequate compensation in this case.
3. Is it worth going legal? Or is an off court settlement better?
4. Where should I sue? US, Malaysia or India. What can be the legal reward and at what cost?
Kindly revert to me with your views. Thanks for your help.
Most properties have insurance for such issues, and most have what they call umbrella coverage, which is a certain set amount which as long as your claim is not above that amount it will be dealt with promptly and without much issue.
So when I spoke to a lawyer he had an idea of what that umbrella amount was (in my case it was $ US 25K ).
So armed with this knowledge I spoke with the hotel management, we agreed on a number that was less (my medical expenses were covered separately by the hotel), and it was all settled amicably.
The hotel could be not have been more courteous or professional.
So contact an attorney in KL, ask the questions I did and approach the hotel management on your own, letting them know you have spoken to an attorney but would like to settle this without one.
it worked out well for me, and I was treated very well by the property and have returned to stay there since the incident.
Aug 16, 2018, 9:38 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: London; Bangkok; Las Vegas
Programs: AA Exec Plat; UA MM Gold; Marriott Lifetime Titanium; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,745
You need to retain a lawyer in Malaysia and have them deal with it.
Sorry your family has to deal with this.
Sorry your family has to deal with this.
Aug 16, 2018, 9:39 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BDU
Programs: DL:MM, Marriott:LTT
Posts: 8,779
Sorry for the issue, which should not have happened. You are likely best contacting an attorney in KL.
There is nothing you can do at this point, as you have posted this and others have quoted it, but for anyone else in the future: Do not post such a detailed rundown about what happened if you intend to hold the hotel financially liable and/or hire an attorney. By posting such detail, you have locked yourself into details and given the hotel statements with which to try and impeach any future statements. Anything stated incorrectly is now permanent. Any intent to state one thing that can be interpreted otherwise can be used against you. The attorney knows how to avoid statements which can me misinterpreted and may now find he needs to work against your lengthy detailed statement. Giving FT posters such detail will accomplish nothing and can only wind up working against you.
Let the professional attorney use his experience to argue on your behalf. A very basic warning lawyers always give is to keep answers short, don't volunteer anything. No details you offer can help you in any way.
There is nothing you can do at this point, as you have posted this and others have quoted it, but for anyone else in the future: Do not post such a detailed rundown about what happened if you intend to hold the hotel financially liable and/or hire an attorney. By posting such detail, you have locked yourself into details and given the hotel statements with which to try and impeach any future statements. Anything stated incorrectly is now permanent. Any intent to state one thing that can be interpreted otherwise can be used against you. The attorney knows how to avoid statements which can me misinterpreted and may now find he needs to work against your lengthy detailed statement. Giving FT posters such detail will accomplish nothing and can only wind up working against you.
Let the professional attorney use his experience to argue on your behalf. A very basic warning lawyers always give is to keep answers short, don't volunteer anything. No details you offer can help you in any way.
Aug 16, 2018, 9:46 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SLC/HEL/Anywhere with a Beach
Programs: Marriott Ambassador; AA EXP 3MM; AS MVP, Hilton Gold, CH-47/UH-60/C-23/C-130 VET
Posts: 5,234
Also, keep in mind this hotel was almost certainly a franchise so this is really an issue for the hotel ownership, rather than the Sheraton/Starwood/Marriott.
Aug 16, 2018, 1:38 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: UA 1K | MR Platinum
Posts: 492
Removing extraneous and unnecessary detail from your post distills the facts into one sentence:
Your wife's foot was damaged due to negligence on the part of a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Adequate compensation is something that the legal system of Malaysia would determine. Personally, I would consider a refund of your stay and coverage of all related medical bills to be sufficient, but I am not an attorney nor familiar with the Malaysian legal system. I don't see how any of the details about what happened to your family prior to arriving at the hotel is any of the property's concerns. I'm sorry that you lost your brother-in-law, but that isn't something relevant to the story or reasonably expected to be covered by this Sheraton.
Your wife's foot was damaged due to negligence on the part of a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Adequate compensation is something that the legal system of Malaysia would determine. Personally, I would consider a refund of your stay and coverage of all related medical bills to be sufficient, but I am not an attorney nor familiar with the Malaysian legal system. I don't see how any of the details about what happened to your family prior to arriving at the hotel is any of the property's concerns. I'm sorry that you lost your brother-in-law, but that isn't something relevant to the story or reasonably expected to be covered by this Sheraton.