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Advertiser Staff

Tourist's survivors sue Waikiki hotel

The family of an elderly Canadian visitor who was assaulted and fatally injured minutes after arriving with his wife at a Waikiki hotel is suing Outrigger Hotels of Hawai'i.

The lawsuit says the hotel should have done more to ensure the safety of Norman Chaplan, 81, of Ottawa, Ontario.

A lawsuit filed in Circuit Court yesterday by Honolulu attorney Mark Davis said Chaplan was part of a group of Canadian senior citizens who checked into the Outrigger's Ohana Waikiki West on Kuhio Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 23. Chaplan was still in the process of checking in when he went to use a men's room in the lobby and was struck on the head and robbed. He died at the Queen's Medical Center several hours later.

According to the lawsuit, the hotel is in what is known to be a "high-crime area requiring appropriate security," but at the time of the assault there were no security workers on the premises and hotel workers were not monitoring the hotel's video surveillance system.

The lawsuit, which accuses the hotel's owners of negligence and wrongful death, asks for monetary damages to be determined at trial.

Hotel spokeswoman Nancy Daniels said Outrigger officials had not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit and would not be able to comment.

Sailor identified in on-the-job death

The sailor who died while doing maintenance at the base fuel pier on Tuesday has been identified as Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael B. Hudson, Marine authorities said.

The Oakland, Calif., native was assigned to Waterfront Operations, Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Base Hawai'i. Hudson, 26, joined the Navy in July 1994.

He was doing routine maintenance and inspection on a floating fuel containment boom at the base fuel pier at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday. Hudson was pronounced dead at 12:47 p.m. at the Castle Medical Center.

He is survived by his wife and three children.

Ka'u fire destroys $180,000 home

PAHALA, Hawai'i — A home valued at $180,000 was destroyed by fire near midnight Wednesday at Wood Valley, about four miles outside of Pahala village in Ka'u.

No one was injured in the blaze at the home owned by Theodora Mallick.