HONOLULU (KHNL/Gray News) – A family in Hawaii says they are still waiting for answers after their loved one was severely disabled following a visit to a Country Club sauna.
The incident happened on April 30, 2023, and the family says they have since filed a lawsuit as it has been a 20-month nightmare.
They said Yoshinori “Ken” Hayashida visited the Waialae Country Club that day for a refreshing stop in the sauna.
But Hayashida’s wife, Sanae Yokota, says things drastically changed as she went to check on her husband which led to first responders trying to revive him.
Attorney Robert Miyashita estimates that Hayashida was unconscious in the sauna for nearly two hours until his wife asked someone to look for him.
“I was shocked. I kept saying, ‘Is he OK? Is he OK? Somebody said, ‘Oh, don’t worry. He has a pulse,‘” Yokota said.
But Miyashita said Hayashida’s body temperature was so high during the incident that it couldn’t be measured.
“His temperature was beyond the conventional thermometer range, which is usually about 108 or 109 degrees,” the attorney said.
According to Miyashita, Hayashida suffered irreversible brain damage and fourth-degree burns.
Yokota said her husband has received treatment but the process has been horrifying.
“It’s brutal. Digging out all his muscles, looking at the blood … I sometimes think if we made the right decision,” she said. “It may be less painful if he could die. But he’s a fighter.”
Hayashida improved in rehab but his health has since steadily deteriorated.
The now 80-year-old is currently living in a care home in Japan because the family says medical costs in the U.S. are exceeding $1.5 million.
Hayashida’s wife said the club’s refusal to take accountability has forced the family to file the lawsuit.
“This lawsuit is their intent to bring awareness,” their attorney said.
Waialae didn’t have basic safety equipment or protocols to keep sauna users safe, which are required by law, Miyashita said.
“Installation of timers, periodic wellness checks, attendants … they also require panic buttons,” he said.
One thing the club reportedly did have was a warning on the sauna thermostat saying “An attendant must be on duty when the sauna is in use.”
Representatives for the Waialae Country Club did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the situation.
Hayashida’s wife says she remains by her husband’s side but wants other sauna users to learn a lesson from their experience.
“I didn’t know the sauna was that dangerous,” she said. “It could happen to you. It could happen to anybody.”
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