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MEXICO CITY (AP) — An American tourist was electrocuted in a Jacuzzi at a hotel in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, earlier this week and his wife was rushed to the hospital, an incident that prompted the family to sue the resort for wrongful death. His lawyer said Saturday it was negligence.
Lizette Zambrano, a 35-year-old woman who was seriously injured, filed a $1 million lawsuit against the operator of the American resort in her hometown of El Paso, Texas, days after she was rescued from the hot tub on Friday. Puerto Peñasco, a tourist town an hour south of the border, is located.
The defendants, vacation rental provider Casago International and tour company High Desert Travel, both based in Arizona, did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, which holds them responsible for faulty electrical wiring in the hot tub that electrocuted the couple and 43-year-old Jorge Guillén.
In addition to failing to warn or alert guests of the risks of the hot tubs, resort management also failed to respond quickly enough to the emergency, the lawsuit said.
#video??| Tragic vacation. A tourist was electrocuted in a jacuzzi at a hotel in Puerto Peñasco. #SonoraThe victims were members of an American family staying at the Sonora Ocean Resort Hotel. pic.twitter.com/NagicWR8fH
— DiariodeYucatan (@DiariodeYucatan) June 12, 2024
The tragedy occurred when Zambrano, Guillen, her husband and other family members arrived at the Sonoran Ocean Resort, a high-rise apartment complex, for their vacation on Tuesday, the lawsuit said. Zambrano and Guillen went to the Jacuzzi to watch the sunset over the ocean.
They don’t realize that electricity is running through the jacuzzi water.
“It’s absolutely horrific,” Tej Paranjpe, an attorney with PMR Law Firm in Houston, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
When Gillen put his feet into the Jacuzzi, the current made him shiver all over. He fell into the DC circuit and was soon trapped underwater.
Zambrano jumped in to save her husband but was also shaken by the current and swept in, the lawsuit said. Cellphone video of the incident showed chaos on the pool deck as guests screamed and ran to try to help the couple before realizing the dangers of the hot tub water.
While one guest managed to pull Zambrano from the water, efforts to pull Guillen out using sticks and various metal tools only resulted in more people being electrocuted, the lawsuit states.
“No one on the staff took any action as Jorge continued to be shocked again and again underwater,” Paranipe said.
Zambrano’s lawyers said 10 minutes passed before resort staff responded to the vacationer’s cries for help. Finally, the manager managed to pull Guillen from the bottom of the Jacuzzi, but it was too late.
Zambrano was flown by helicopter to Phoenix, Arizona, and released from the hospital on Friday.
The Sonora prosecutor’s office reported that investigators are looking into the “root causes of the electrical failure” and will conduct field investigations in the coming days.
Hot tub electrocution due to bad underwater wiring and damaged pumps is rare, but experts warn that vigilance is needed to ensure the equipment is properly maintained.
Between 2002 and 2018, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 47 incidents of injuries or deaths related to hot tubs, pools and spas in this country.
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