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Lawsuit: Hotel worker who drowned in elevator victim of 'gross negligence'

Jill Renick's family says they still have many painful unanswered questions, including who summoned her to the basement on that night of flooding, and for what reason.

HOUSTON — The lawsuit filed by the family of flood victim, Jill Renick, cites elevator code violations as the cause of her death. It also says she drowned from the “gross negligence” of the Omni Houston Hotel.

On Thursday, the family’s attorney added more defendants to the suit, as well as details about another employee, who apparently almost a met similar fate.

“As we learn more facts, we’ll continue to amend the lawsuit,” says attorney, John Spillane.

Renick was the Spa Services Director of the Omni Houston Hotel when she drowned in the hotel basement during Hurricane Harvey.

The family’s original lawsuit was filed in early June and claims that Renick’s death was preventable. It blames the hotel and Otis Elevator Company, for not installing elevator flood sensors, which city code requires.

The hotel sits in the flood plain of Buffalo Bayou.

The family’s lawyer added two elevator inspection companies as defendants, saying inspectors should’ve made sure that the hotel installed the flood sensors.

“(If) this flood sensor, which is less than $350 to purchase, had been in place, as it should have been, Jill would be with us,” Spillane says.

The suit says Renick became trapped in the elevator with rising flood waters getting in.

She was able to pry the doors open, but then became trapped in the basement. Her body was found 11 days later, in the ceiling. She had been desperately searching for air.

The family’s lawsuit says the hotel knew it was prone to severe flooding and it never took proper safety precautions.

“This hotel had flooding had just two years before Ms. Renick’s tragedy, when the elevator would go into flooded areas and people could get trapped. They did nothing,” says Spillane.

Spillane says the suit now specifically includes an account of another employee from that flood in 2015. The description states that the hotel’s power had gone out, and a worker who had been heading to the first floor got trapped in the malfunctioning elevator.

The elevator took him to the basement.

“Because he had a hand-held radio with him, he was able to call for help," Spillane tells us. "Eventually, someone from the engineering department was able to get to him, and pry the elevator doors open, to rescue him."

The family says they’re filing the suit to force other Houston-area companies to follow safety protocols. They believe flood sensors serve as potential life savers. When the sensors detect water, they prompt the elevators to go to the highest level of a building.

We reached out to Otis Elevators, but have not yet heard back. The Omni Hotel says it does not comment on pending litigation.

Renick’s family says they still have many painful unanswered questions, including who summoned her to the basement on that night of flooding, and for what reason.

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