US Apartment Causes 3 Deaths by Heating During Heatwave... 20 Billion Won Compensation to Bereaved Families

Family's Lawyer: "A Tragedy That Could Have Been Prevented"

James Snyder Apartment in Chicago where the accident occurred. Photo by Yonhap News

In a retirement-only apartment complex in Chicago, USA, the apartment management has agreed to compensate the families of three women in their 60s and 70s who died from heat exposure, with a total of 16 million dollars (approximately 20 billion KRW).

On the 10th (local time), according to foreign media including AP News and ABC News, 'Gateway Apartments' and 'Hispanic Housing Development,' the owners and operators of the 'James Snyder Apartments' in the Rogers Park district of northern Chicago, announced that they would pay a large settlement to the victims' families.

The victims were Dolores McNeely (76), Gwendolyn Osborne (72), and Janice Reed (68), who were found dead in their respective homes on May 14 last year. At that time, Chicago was experiencing an abnormal heatwave with temperatures ranging from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius for more than five consecutive days. Autopsies revealed that all three died from excessive heat exposure.

The families claimed that despite the abnormal heatwave, the apartment management did not stop the heating system. In particular, the families emphasized that on the day of the incident, while the outdoor temperature in Chicago approached 30 degrees Celsius, the indoor temperature of the apartment exceeded 38 degrees Celsius.

Residents also testified that they had complained about the unbearable heat several days before the incident, but the management office refused to turn off the heating.

In response, the apartment management argued, "We believed that according to city ordinances, the cooling system in public housing cannot be operated before June 1." However, the city council countered, "There is no ordinance requiring the heating system to run until June 1," and added, "It only states that a minimum temperature of 20℃ must be maintained until June 1."

The families filed a lawsuit against the apartment owners and management company and eventually received compensation. The families' attorney stated, "This was a tragedy that could have been avoided and prevented," and pointed out, "If the apartment owners and management had acted reasonably by turning off the heating and turning on the air conditioning, these three women would not have died."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.