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Woman Scarred by Scalding Shower Awarded $750,000 in Settlement
Fox ^

Posted on 07/05/2009 9:59:53 PM PDT by Chet 99

MOBILE, Ala. — A woman who suffered third-degree burns after stepping into a shower of 136-degree water has been awarded $750,000 in a settlement of a lawsuit against the apartment manager.

The Mobile County court award to 25-year-old Treon Moorer, in late June, followed mediation with JRS Management Inc. of Florida. The company's lawyer, Larry Matthews of Pensacola, declined comment.

. . .

He said Moorer was "horribly scarred" from the neck down. Taylor says the water heater industry and burn doctors recommend a setting of 120 degrees.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: lawsuit; moorer
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I remember times on my last ship that you had to be awfully careful when turning on the water in the heads, especially in the shower. There were a few times that I turned on the faucet in the head to shave, and got mostly steam coming out. It did clean my razor pretty well, though.


41 posted on 07/05/2009 11:58:07 PM PDT by tarawa
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To: Chet 99

My fiancee is a massage therapist. When he does a “hot stone massage” the stones are kept in water that is kept at a temperature of 140 degrees, and he puts his hands in this water to remove the stones with no ill effects at all.


42 posted on 07/06/2009 12:08:10 AM PDT by chae (I am karmic retribution)
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Reading some replies I'm glad some don't live next door to me. There is no need to set a water heater above 130 degrees. If you don't have enough hot water get a larger capacity heater with quick recovery if electric or go to a gas water heater.

Folks when a water heater blows because the pop off valve and the electrical safteys fails the side of your home will be gone as in big loud boom followed by falling walls.

Or think about your money like this. It is likely the second biggest and most frequent power draw in your home with the electric furnace and central air being number one.

43 posted on 07/06/2009 12:33:34 AM PDT by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgement? Which one say ye?)
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To: DieHard the Hunter
On the other hand, 136 degrees Centigrade water is well past boiling point (100C) and is more than hot enough to scald.

So, checking the story again I note that they do not specify whether the temperature is in Fahrenheit or Centigrade. Not overly helpful!

136C water can only be achieved by holding the water in a pressure vessel, and it would flash to steam immediately upon release, most likely killing the person it hit. If the temperature were really in centigrade, the award would be to the survivors.

Mark

44 posted on 07/06/2009 12:41:50 AM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: JRandomFreeper; Oztrich Boy
It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

And that's why cooks and chefs throw wet towels in the bin. A wet towel, in a commercial kitchen, unless specifically being used for something (creme brule, for example) is dangerous.

I was just thinking about this, and you know, you're absolutely right... I was making a pan seared steak once, using a cast iron skillet that had been in the oven @ 500F heating up, and I grabbed an oven mitt that had accidentally gotten wet near the sink. As soon as the oven mitt touched the skillet, that water flashed to steam and burned the hell out of my thumb.

Mark

45 posted on 07/06/2009 12:51:46 AM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: rawhide

“A little exaggeration? Huh? “

Not one bit!!!

I also drink my coffee just below boiling.


46 posted on 07/06/2009 12:59:49 AM PDT by dalereed
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Comment #47 Removed by Moderator

To: dalereed
Can I ask you a question and I'm not trying to be sarcastic or funny. Would you sleep well if you knew there was a bomb in your basement or garage? One that was armed 24/7 and if the built in saftey devices failed on the trigger it would go off? How long would you keep it there? Water heaters are nothing to mess around with. 180 degrees in water heating is boiler vessel territory and requires a lot better metal and a lot more safety features.
48 posted on 07/06/2009 1:07:24 AM PDT by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgement? Which one say ye?)
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To: cva66snipe

i’ll keep it at 180 thank you!

That’s where i’ve kept it for the last 51 years since I left home and got married and that’s where it’s going to stay..


49 posted on 07/06/2009 1:12:38 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: dalereed

Concern is genuine. I’m a retired maintenance mechanic with Commercial HVAC/ Electrical, Plumbing back ground, and also was a Boiler Operator too. I’ve seen houses blown apart by failed water heaters. When the pop off fails it becomes a missile.


50 posted on 07/06/2009 1:19:14 AM PDT by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgement? Which one say ye?)
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To: Morgana

Now that I think about it, I use my toe for a bath, arm for a shower. Same principle, though. This woman must have rocks in her head or chemicals in her bloodstream.


51 posted on 07/06/2009 1:20:12 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows (Crazy is the new sane.)
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To: cva66snipe

it’s not a closed system and doesn’t build pressure above line pressure which in my case I have set at 50 psi.


52 posted on 07/06/2009 1:22:55 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: Chet 99
136° Is certainly hot water, but, She must be so fat
that she slid into the tub and stayed there.

I stubbed my toe, I need to sue the manufacturer of that chair
for putting four legs on it.

53 posted on 07/06/2009 1:26:59 AM PDT by MaxMax (America's population is 304-Million. Obama must punish America for the other 4.7 Billion)
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To: davandbar
...Wouldn’t water heated to 135 C just be steam? How could water stay in a liquid state that far beyond it’s boiling point???

My solar heater heats my tank up to 150°, and my boiler heats
the water to 280° and it works out just fine.

54 posted on 07/06/2009 1:49:47 AM PDT by MaxMax (America's population is 304-Million. Obama must punish America for the other 4.7 Billion)
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To: DieHard the Hunter

Unless the water is superheated under pressure, it will not rise above the boiling point of 100 degrees Centigrade.


55 posted on 07/06/2009 3:03:06 AM PDT by rlmorel ("The Road to Serfdom" by F.A.Hayek - Read it...today.)
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To: sinanju
-- 136 degree water would probably take minutes (minutes!) to do such destruction. --

Surprisingly, not so. See ASTM C1055. Water is an efficient heat transfer medium too.

Agreed about not stepping into it, or jumping out! And too, that injury on exposure to 136F water would not be instantaneous by a long shot. Another guess (yours that she was numb to pain is a very good one) is the lady found the water too hot, and in error, turned the heat UP.

56 posted on 07/06/2009 3:05:19 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: dalereed

“It’s dangerous”

but I’ve always done it that way

“It could be deadly”

that’s alright, I’ve always done it that way.


57 posted on 07/06/2009 3:40:14 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (Navy blue)
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To: cva66snipe
In the oil fields dealing with high pressures we use a diaphragm type pop-off’s, they don't fail but they only work once and the diaphragm will have to be replaced.
58 posted on 07/06/2009 3:51:40 AM PDT by Dusty Road
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To: JoeProBono; neverdem

This doesn’t show the temperature that the Hot Stop shuts off at, but the quoted 136F water in which the woman was scalded is equivalent to about 57.8C. The table says 5 seconds to a 3rd degree burn to an adult at that point. This would seem long enough to jump back in reaction, though the clinging water would continue to burn.

Street drugs or alcohol could be one explanation why she didn’t. Another possibility could be peripheral nerve degeneration, such as sometimes happens in diabetes or some congenital conditions. She apparently asked nothing for “pain and suffering” which hints at a reason.

Is there a doctor in the house?


59 posted on 07/06/2009 4:55:20 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Don't blame me -- I use Linux.)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Having a handheld shower head fed off of a bathtub spigot diverter, my first test is under the spigot and the second test is out of the shower head after diverting, both cautiously with the hand. If the laundry machine or dishwasher kicks in with a fill during my ablutions, the water gets suddenly cooler. I cautiously readjust to a comfortable level, keeping in mind that when the machine fill ends I will get a burst of hot water again and that I have to be alert for that. There are new nanny state required temperature equalizers that my county code now calls for in new bathroom installations, but I’m grandfathered. Were I to have houseguests that are elderly, ill, or very young I would change the valve (with some regrets) to avert possible injury. This change would also mean I could not get maximally hot water out of the bathtub spigot, which I occasionally want for household cleaning purposes.


60 posted on 07/06/2009 5:08:18 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Don't blame me -- I use Linux.)
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