Branson Luxury Hotel aces lawsuit over pool chemical injuries

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Three families from Jefferson County, Missouri, have filed a lawsuit against the Grand Plaza Hotel in Branson, alleging that the upscale hotel negligently administered shock treatment to the pool, a process involving potent chemicals like chlorine aimed at eliminating contaminants, on two occasions while guests, including children and adults, were swimming. The incident occurred over Mother’s Day weekend in May 2021, when a hotel staff member utilized a commercial-grade pool cleaner bearing a warning on its label: According to the complaint, the label on the commercial-grade pool cleaner explicitly states, “no one can be in the pool when chemicals are being added directly to the pool.” The lawsuit alleges that as a result of the hotel’s safety oversights, several children needed medical attention, including one young girl who suffered permanent damage to her lungs and throat.

Despite explicit warnings of fatal risks, irreversible eye damage, and skin burns on the labels of the chemicals, the maintenance personnel at the Grand Plaza Hotel purportedly failed to provide any warnings or guidance to the affected families and other hotel guests when applying the chemicals directly into the pool, according to the lawsuit. The swimmers reportedly suffered immediate severe adverse reactions to the harsh chemicals, including burning eyes and skin, chest constriction, 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.”

The Jefferson County families had traveled to Branson for a youth baseball tournament and opted to lodge at the Grand Plaza Hotel to make the most of the holiday weekend. Regrettably, the pool and hot tub, which the hotel promoted on its website as a spot for guests to “unwind and relax” and to “rejuvenate [their] mind and body,” had the opposite effect on the young families.

An inquiry carried out by the Branson Police Department unveiled that a hotel employee inaccurately documented the intense pool treatments. The pool was shocked twice while guests were swimming, yet it was logged 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.”

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