Tynan settles lawsuit against US hotel

CLASSICAL music star Ronan Tynan has reached a settlement in his lawsuit against a US hotel over allegations that faulty maintenance in a room had caused him serious injuries.

Mr Tynan, 45, who is a qualified doctor, claimed he suffered severe pain when a shower seat collapsed under him while he was staying at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs on July 22, 2002.

The accident happened while the singer, who is a member of the Irish Tenors, was staying in a room in the five-star hotel which was specifically designed to accommodate disabled people.

The singer, who was born with deformities of his lower limbs, had both legs amputated during his 20s.

Mr Tynan was staying in the hotel where he was due to give a motivational speech on how he overcame physical disability which he has developed as a second career in the United States.

Last night the tenor, who comes originally from Co Kilkenny, dismissed reports that he had sought $8 million (€6.8m) in damages from the hotel, including $5m (€4.2m) for loss of past and future earnings.

“The settlement is nowhere near those figures,” said Mr Tynan. In a deposition earlier this year, he claimed that the injuries had caused him three years of pain.

The upmarket Broadmoor Hotel, which describes itself as a “five-star, world-class facility” had denied negligence for the injuries caused to Mr Tynan.

Contrary to an earlier report, the case before a jury which was scheduled to begin at a US district court in Denver, Colorado, on Monday did not go ahead after an agreement was reached between lawyers representing Mr Tynan and the Broadmoor Hotel.

The case was struck out when both parties agreed to an undisclosed settlement.

“We regret that one of our guests was injured at the hotel and have taken steps to ensure that such an incident will not happen again,” said a hotel spokesperson.