- A New Jersey man stayed with his family at Trump International Beach Resort in August 2022.
- Theoharis Lekas said in a lawsuit he had to have part of his foot amputated after the vacation.
A New Jersey man is suing the Trump International Beach Resort in Miami over "dangerously hot" surfaces that he claims resulted in a partial amputation of his foot.
Theoharis Lekas filed a lawsuit Friday in New York State Supreme Court accusing the former president's resort of negligence. He went to the venue in Sunny Isles, Florida, for what was described in the court documents as an "extended-weekend stay" with his family in August last year.
The temperature was at least 95 degrees each day, the lawsuit said, and Lekas "generally" wore sandals to walk on the pool decks and beach sand. When he removed his sandals to go in and out of the water, he suffered "severe devastating burns" to both feet.
However, Lekas didn't realize what had happened until close to the end of the trip because he has diabetic neuropathy, according to the court documents.
Both the decks and sand were "scorching hot" and Lekas blames the resort for not posting appropriate signage to recommend footwear while walking on these surfaces. He also alleged that the resort did nothing to "curb the searing temperatures" such as hosing down or putting mats onto the surfaces.
When he was back in New Jersey, he went to the emergency room after his condition "significantly" worsened and the skin on his feet was peeling "so badly," per the lawsuit.
After treatment, only his left foot healed while the other deteriorated to the point where it swelled to the "size of a football" and one of his toes turned black.
Doctors had to amputate the toe and part of the foot, according to the complaint. It also added that his right foot was still not fully healed and Lekas was expected to require more surgery.
The lawsuit also named Dezer Properties, which constructed the resort, claiming it bore some responsibility for his injuries by "carelessness, negligence and/or recklessness" of both the developer and the resort.
Lekas is seeking an undisclosed sum to compensate for his condition.
Lekas' attorney, Trump International Beach Resort, and Dezer Properties didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.