Foodie News
Spindletop of horrors? Houston's revolving restaurant sued after child caught inrotating floor
Photo by Taggart Sorensen/Hyatt Regency Houston/Facebook
Photo by Taggart Sorensen/Hyatt Regency Houston/Facebook
Spindletop, the revolving restaurant atop the Hyatt Regency Houston in downtown Houston, is known as the site of many celebrations. But for one family, a dinner there turned into a nightmare when their child's foot was caught and mangled in the revolving floor.
Dehong Shen, Min Zhang and their 4-year-old daughter Erin were having dinner with friends at Spindletop on October 29 when Erin, who was sitting at the end of the table next to the window, stood up from her seat to observe a waiter carrying a piece of cake to another table.
Erin's parent's attempted to free her foot and asked employees to stop the rotation, but according to the suit the rotation never stopped.
"Shortly thereafter, Erin cried out that her foot was stuck. Plaintiffs discovered that her right foot was caught in a gap between the rotating floor and the window . . . She became pale and panicked as she attempted to free herself, crying out that her foot hurt," says a lawsuit filed by Shen and Zhang against Hyatt Corporation and the VII/SCH Houston Hotel as operators of Spindletop.
Erin's parent's attempted to free her foot and asked employees to stop the rotation, but according to the suit the rotation never stopped, and as her foot was being pulled away from her body, Erin's parents were fortunately able to free her foot from her shoe and "squeeze it out of the gap in the floor" just before she was hit by a pole from a handrail, which was in the path of the rotating floor.
According to the suit, the child's foot had "several deep lacerations" and her skin bent inwards, in addition to significant swelling around the wounds. Erin was later treated at the emergency room at Texas Children's Hospital in Katy.
Her parents are requesting damages on her behalf for past, present and future medical expenses, including surgery to restore the normal appearance of her foot as well as damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress and the "like permanent disfigurement of Erin's right foot."
The suit claims that such a gap between the floor and the window in an area where people are routinely seated is a safety hazard and constitutes negligence and gross negligence on the part of the restaurant.
Spindletop has been rotating downtown since 1972, reopening in October 2010 with new interiors after Hurricane Ike damaged the building in 2008. Representatives for the Hyatt Regency did not immediately return calls for comment.
