$1.83 mn suit filed after Indian woman scalded in Edinburgh hotel

London, Nov 13 

The family of an Indian grandmother who died after being severely scalded in a hotel shower in the Scotland capital, are seeking 1.2 million pounds ($1.83 million) in compensation, a media report said on Friday.

Kalyani Uthaman, 59, suffered 25 percent burns to her body in the incident at a Premier Inn in Newcraighall, Edinburgh, the Daily Mail reported.

She was found slumped in the bath by her daughter-in-law and spent six weeks in intensive care but died of multiple organ failure which doctors said was caused by her burn injuries. 

"She was a lovely woman, she was always there for us... it was an irreparable loss, given the love and affection she had for us and we had for her. It was something none of us would ever expect to happen in a very safe country like Britain," said her son Sundar Vadivel Uthaman, who was on holiday with his mother in August 2012 when the accident occurred.

Uthaman, from Bengaluru in India, was understood to have been conscious when her daughter-in-law found her.

Sundar Uthaman and other relatives have lodged a legal suit at the Court of Session.

The Uthaman family, represented by Scottish solicitor Thompsons, says a thermostatic mixing valve -- a device designed to prevent scalding -- should have been installed between the water tank and the shower in the hotel.

Glen Millar, of Thompsons Solicitors, said it was a "significant milestone", adding that "as instructed by the Uthaman family, summon has been served on Whitbread plc, as operators of Premier Inn, seeking damages in excess of 1 million pounds arising from the tragic loss of their mother, grandmother and sister Kalyani. 

"The family view the proceedings as a means by which further deaths in similar tragic circumstances might be avoided."