Hotel incident: Condom and 4 year old

[brandon1375]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Cincinnati, Ohio

I am a a divorced father of two boys age 4 and 5 visiting them here in Ohio for two weeks. Sunday we took a trip to Kings Island amusement park, with a hotel stay Sunday night and then the Cincinnati Reds game on Monday night. During our stay at the Livinn Suites in Sharonville I had a horrible experience in the hotel room. For some it may not be a big deal, but if you're a parent I think you'll understand. Monday morning I awoke in the room to my boys horsing around on the bed next to me. I got out of bed and noticed a used, wet condom on the floor between the beds. Immediately i got a sick feeling in my stomache, as I know my boys surely came across it as it was in plain view. I firmly asked the boys "Did you guys touch this?" They giggled and said "The balloon dad?". I said "Yes, did you touch it?" My 5 year old continued to giggle and said Kannon (my 4 year old) tried blowing it up. I almost got sick when he said it. I then asked him if he tried blowing it up, and he nodded his head yes. I thought of all the STD's that could have been on it immediately washed his hands and face and called the front desk to send the manager up. I then explained to her what had happened and she said she would move us to another room and comp us for the 2 nights stay. She left the room and i immediately called my dad who works in the medical field. He said I should take the condom to a lab to have it tested. I then went down to the desk and asked where the condom was, and they said they flushed it. I was stressed all day and continue to worry about my son....it could be days or months if anything shows up in him. Is there any liability here on the hotels part?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Proserpina]

As the hotel appeared to have flushed the evidence - I wouldn't think there'd be much you can do.

Sorry.

[ecmst12]

Um....it would not have been "wet" from anything questionable, 2 days after anyone else would have stayed in your room. And while gross, germs do not live that long once separated from the body. So realistically, your boys were not exposed to anything dangerous.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Um....it would not have been "wet" from anything questionable, 2 days after anyone else would have stayed in your room. And while gross, germs do not live that long once separated from the body. So realistically, your boys were not exposed to anything dangerous.

why would you think it would not be "wet". Unless it was held open, no air would have flowed through it to dry it out and depending on the "capacity" of the person wearing it, it could remain "wet" for quite a long time.


brandon; sorry to hear of the situation. Yes, it is disgusting. With the kids being so young, eating snot isn't disgusting (to them anyway) so do not make any more of this with them other than having them checked for possible diseases. I keep hearing so many people say germs do not live long outside the body but I can tell you, due to my real occupation, there are times that diseases such as hepatitis are still considered a threat long after the offensive effluent has left the "distributor" shall we say. While the transmission of Hep c as an std is debatable, I prefer to err on the side of caution so hep c may or may not be of concern. I would speak with your doctor (I suspect a pediatrician would not be overly well versed on possible viruses present in semen) and follow his guidance as to what the children should be tested for.

While the flushing of the evidence would not preclude an action if one was possible, I would think that any action would be difficult to win. While you say

as I know my boys surely came across it as it was in plain view

it apparently was not in plain view to housekeeping, or you, until that time. I cannot imagine housekeeping leaving anything like that lying around if known and the fact you did not see it until that morning attests to the fact it was not immediately observable until your children discovered it wherever it lay hidden.

The only place I could imagine it lay hidden would have been under the beds. I know of no hotel that cleans so thoroughly as to require the maids to kneel down and look under the beds. Maybe they should. After reading of your incident, I can surely see a reason for it.

So, they question that would have to be answered for the hotel to bear any liability would be:

is it reasonable to expect housekeeping to physically check under a bed (or anywhere else something could be hidden) for such items. If no, you would have no claim. If yes, then you might have a claim.


I have been told by many friends; do NOT look under the mattress in a hotel room. While there is a joke about folks leaving dirty magazines under the mattress, honestly, you really don't know what could be under there. In todays world, I can imagine magazines, condoms, or even used needles either under the mattress or under the bed. Maybe I'm just a bit paranoid but I loathe staying in hotels due to such concerns but there is nothing wrong with a parent checking out any or all of those possibilities to protect their children.

just imagine, it could have been this:

[url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/bodybed.asp]snopes.com: The Body Under the Bed[/url]

damn, I'm never staying at a hotel again.

[brandon1375]

there was no underbead, there was a wood border panel around the bed. The boys tore off the comforter and some sheets amidst their horseplay and I think thats where the condom came from.

[brandon1375]

i also asked the manager when the room was cleaned last, and she said the day prior....so somone was in there the day before us.

[brandon1375]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it.