Family of man scalded to death in bath slam Perthshire hotel's maintenance failures

The family of a man who was scalded to death in a bath has slammed the maintenance failures of the Perthshire hotel.

Wallace Hunter, 75, a retired precision engineer, died from 83% burns after going for a shower on the final day of a coach trip with his wife to the Pitlochry Hydro Hotel in December 2019.

Efforts to rescue him were hampered by the fact that the bathroom door opened outwards, bolted on the inside, and had no exterior emergency release as would be the case in new buildings.

When it was finally opened, Mr Hunter, from Eaglesham, was found in a bath of water so “scalding” that when a police officer tried to pull out the plug, it came away in his hands.

Firefighters had to wear protective gloves to lift him out.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry concluded that the hotel’s maintenance failures played a crucial part in the death of the 75-year-old.

Staff received a number of complaints regarding the temperature of the water. A previous guest of room 221 described the shower’s temperature control as “iffy”.

The incident took place at the Pitlochry Hydro Hotel Facebook/Pitlochry Hydro Hotel

The complaints were never completed in a logbook, meaning no action was taken.

The inquiry noted that the bath’s thermostatic mixing valve (TMV), which allows both hot and cold water to mix, was faulty.

The FAI also stated that Mr Hunter may have been saved if the bathroom door lock had been accessible from the outside.

A number of precautions, including annual maintenance work on bath taps, analysis of guest complaints and the fitting of bathroom lock releases, were laid out in the inquiry.

Mr Hunter’s family say the ruling is the “most difficult thing” they have ever read.

In a joint statement, son Keir and his daughter Kimberley said: “It describes in full detail our Dad’s excruciating and drawn out final moments but also shines a light on the fact that his death could and would have been avoided had the hotel used qualified maintenance staff and had the most basic of maintenance regimes in place for its hot water supply.

“The fault which caused our father’s death had been complained about by many previous guests and was well known to the hotel management.

“They ignored these warnings. We are frankly appalled that this hotel was allowed to open its doors to the public in 21st-century Scotland.”