A New Jersey man is suing the Trump International Beach Resort in Florida after losing a toe and part of his foot to third-degree burns caused by ‘searing’ hot pool deck and beach sand.
Theoharis Lekas, 52, from New Jersey, filed a lawsuit Friday with the New York Supreme Court claiming the resort was negligent for not posting signs recommending footwear.
He claims the surfaces within the resort were ‘scorching hot’ during his August 2022 vacation, causing ‘devastating’ third-degree burns to both his feet.
Lekas said he could not feel his feet burning while walking on the blistering pool deck as he suffers diabetic neuropathy, which ’caused him to lose feeling in his feet’.
Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles, Florida is being sued for negligence in allowing Theoharis Lekas to burn his foot on a ‘searing’ pool deck
Theoharis Lekas, pictured, filed a lawsuit Friday with the New York Supreme Court claiming the burns ‘irrevocably and seriously impaired’ his life
Lekas is suing the Sunny Isles resort for an undecided amount, claiming his weekend visit ‘irrevocably and seriously impaired’ his life.
Bill Matsikoudis, whose firm is representing Lekas, told DailyMail.com that the sum of damages would likely grow to ‘north of $1 million’.
The resort is not directly owned directly by former president Donald Trump, but instead falls under the umbrella of The Trump Organization, of which he is the founder and majority owner.
However, the lawsuit claims the resort ‘touts its collaboration’ with the real estate mogul.
Lekas alleges that he suffered severe, life-changing burns because the resort was ‘negligent’ as it ‘failed to post signs or any other warnings’ about the sweltering surfaces.
He also accuses Trump International of failing to mitigate the temperatures by laying down mats or hosing down the floors with water.
After strolling across the resort during his weekend stay, Lekas claims he only realized his feet were peeling on the final day of his trip when pulling on socks.
Upon returning home, the lawsuit alleges his condition deteriorated to the point he had to quickly bandage up his badly burnt feet and rush to hospital.
While his left foot healed, the severe burns led his right foot to develop a ‘bullet-hole-shaped ulcer’, which ‘grew wider and deeper, until it reached the bone’.
Lekas claims his foot then swelled to the size of a football, while one of his toes also turned black and became gangrenous.
The ordeal resulted in doctors amputating the foot at the end of a second, 16-day stint in hospital.
The lawsuit claims the wound remains unhealed, posing a significant threat to his health and that he has ‘been told to expect further surgeries’.
As an invitee to the resort, Lekas argues that the resort owed him a duty of care to prevent ‘even unusual hazards’.
The resort allegedly touts ‘touts its collaboration with real estate mogul Donald J Trump’, according to the lawsuit
The Trump resort, pictured from its luxury condominiums in 2017, allegedly failed to install signage or hose down its scorching hot surfaces
The lawsuit, filed by Matsikoudis & Fanciullo LLC, claims to be suing for an amount yet to be ‘fixed by the court’, and claims it has filed with the Supreme Court because the amount will exceed the jurisdictional limits that lower courts could impose.
Bill Matsikoudis, whose firm is representing Lekas, told DailyMail.com that the sum would likely grow to ‘north of $1 million’. ‘The lawsuit speaks for itself – the resort was negligent,’ he added.
While the sum is set to be finalized, Lekas claims to continue to suffer damages including bodily injury, pain and suffering, mental, emotional and physical anguish, loss of earnings, and substantial medical expenses.
‘We’re hoping the damages don’t increase,’ added Matsikoudis. ‘There is the prospect his injuries could worsen.’
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