Family files lawsuit over alleged carbon-monoxide poisoning at Sun Valley Resort

Blood tests administered to three members of the Sumner family in the St. Luke’s Wood River emergency room on Dec. 23, 2022, allegedly showed that Lauren, George’s mother, Melinda, and Melinda’s husband, Steven, had carboxyhemoglobin levels between 13-16%, the lawsuit states.

Levels above 2% for nonsmokers and 9% for smokers indicate carbon-monoxide poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with underlying heart conditions may die at an exposure level above 10%, and levels over 50% are lethal, according to the CDC.

The Sumners’ complaint stated that, upon arriving at the cottage on Dec. 21, 2022, the family realized that the heat had not been turned on and ate dinner at the adjacent Sun Valley Lodge while waiting for the home to warm up. The children slept in twin beds on the second floor while adults slept on the first floor that night, Comstock stated.

However, on the morning of Dec. 22, 2022, both children allegedly woke up feeling “unwell” and suffered vomiting, “stomach aches, headaches, and nausea” over the next few hours, the complaint stated. Lauren Sumner and George Sumner’s mother, Melinda Grubbs-Sanders, also allegedly awoke with headaches that morning, Comstock stated.

Lauren and Melinda stayed behind in the cottage to rest and supervise the children that morning, according to the lawsuit. Lauren allegedly called St. Luke’s for health advice on Dec. 22 and was advised to “try over-the-counter supplemental oxygen and electrolyte tablets,” Comstock wrote. These measures allegedly improved the older child’s health, but the younger child “was still nauseous and vomiting into the evening” as temperatures outside dropped to around zero degrees, Comstock stated.

When the Sumner family awoke the next morning, Dec. 23, “many of their symptoms had grown worse,” the lawsuit stated. Melinda Grubbs-Sanders allegedly “awoke with the same headache and almost lost her balance in the shower after experiencing severe lightheadedness,” and Steven Grubbs-Sanders “also awoke feeling lightheaded and struggling to catch his breath,” according to the complaint.

Because the younger child was still vomiting and she still had a headache, Lauren stayed behind in the cottage on Dec. 23 while her husband and their older child left to go skiing, the lawsuit stated. While showering on Dec. 23, Lauren allegedly “got so lightheaded she almost fainted” and lay on the shower floor and bathroom floor because she could not walk, Comstock stated.

The lawsuit states that the maintenance worker arrived with a carbon-monoxide detector. The device allegedly went off as soon as the worker entered the cottage. Another HVAC technician hired by the resort allegedly entered the cottage with a different carbon-monoxide detector, which also began beeping, according to the lawsuit. The latter technician allegedly turned off the furnace, opened up another door and instructed the family to exit “immediately,” the complaint stated.

The technician’s concern allegedly prompted the family to seek treatment in the emergency department at St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum the night of Dec. 23, 2022. Lauren, the younger child, Melinda, and Steven each required supplemental oxygen at the hospital to remove CO gas from their systems, the complaint stated.

“Blood tests showed that Lauren had an elevated heart rate, and her carboxyhemoglobin level was 15.3 (percent),” Comstock wrote. Melinda’s carboxyhemoglobin level was allegedly 13.1% at the time she was tested, and Steven’s slightly higher, at 13.6%. The child allegedly had “similar or worse carbon monoxide poisoning” than Lauren, the lawsuit said.

The Sumner family also sought hyperbaric oxygen therapy on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 to treat its alleged carbon-monoxide poisoning, according to the lawsuit. Comstock did not specify where that treatment took place.

The family left Idaho on Dec. 29, but the family members’ symptoms “persisted or worsened” after returning home, Comstock stated. Lauren Sumner allegedly continued to experience “anxiety, chest pains, shortness of breath and brain fog,” while Melinda Grubbs-Sanders continued to experience “shortness of breath, brain fog, and unsteadiness” and the younger child “nausea, headaches, blurred vision” and emotional disturbances, the complaint said.

The four affected family members allegedly sought out “more hyperbaric oxygen treatments, brain scans, echocardiograms, MRIs” and neurological exams after their vacation in Sun Valley. “It is unknown if all the effects of their carbon-monoxide poisoning have been fully discovered or resolved,” Comstock wrote.

The civil lawsuit ultimately alleges negligence, accusing Sun Valley Co. of breaching its duty of maintaining the guest cottage “in a safe condition” and failing to inspect its premises “for conditions or hazards that could pose a threat to guests.” The Sumner family is therefore seeking “economic and noneconomic damages” for “severe emotional distress … accompanied by physical manifestations.”

“Plaintiffs’ injuries have caused and continue to cause great mental and physical distress, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life,” the lawsuit states. “[Plaintiffs] … will continue to incur medical expenses and other expenses related to their injuries for some time into the future. The exact amount of said expenses is unknown to the plaintiffs at the present time but will be proven with particularity at the time of trial.”

The family has demanded a jury trial with “no less than 12 people.” As of press time, Comstock had not responded to requests for comment and Sun Valley Resort declined to comment