Premier Inn pay compensation to family of woman who died after she was scalded in hotel shower

The family of a tourist who died after she was scalded in a hotel shower have received an apology and an undisclosed payout from Premier Inn.

Kalyani Uthaman, 59, from India, was staying at the Premier Inn in Newcraighall, Edinburgh, in August 2012 when the incident occurred.

She died in hospital weeks later after suffering multiple organ failure.

Her family have now received an undisclosed payout from the owners, with their lawyer arguing that the hotel failed in its duty of care by not fitting a mixing valve to sufficiently balance water temperature.

Speaking after the settlement was reached, Mrs Uthaman’s son Sundar said he was angry that an apology had not been issued sooner.

He said: ‘I feel vindicated in the sense that a settlement is an acknowledgement by Whitbread that they did wrong.

‘I’m still angry at what they did and the fact it wasn’t until Thompsons Solicitors raised the court proceedings that they issued an apology.’

He added: ‘I would also bring to attention that nobody spoke to me and my family regarding what happened. So I really feel disappointed. The settlement has prevented the evidence being heard in court.

‘I would really like this to be discussed in the court to make sure such a tragedy never happens to anyone else.’

A Crown Office spokesman has since confirmed that it would ‘not be in the public interest’ to hold an inquiry into Mrs Uthaman’s death.

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A spokesman for Premier Inn said: ‘We are very sorry for the tragic accident that occurred to Ms Uthaman in 2012 and our thoughts are with her family.

‘We take millions of bookings every year and we would like to reassure our guests that this was an isolated incident.

‘We constantly monitor and regulate the water temperature of our showers in line with industry best practice, which is based on Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulatory guidance and NHS health care guidelines.’