Leading Irish tenor Ronan Tynan is suing a Colorado hotel for $8 million after a bench collapsed while he was taking a shower.
In a video deposition, Tynan, a former member of the best-selling Irish Tenors group, said the accident left him in "unbelievable pain" and "ripping angry".
The $8 million suit includes $5 million for loss of earnings. Tynan claims a bench shower, fitted for people with disabilities, collapsed under him as he was taking a shower at the Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs in July 2002.
The case is listed to go to trial in December after Denver Federal Court ruled on Tuesday that Tynan's lawyer should not be allowed to reinspect the hotel shower.
Tynan, who has two artificial legs after a motorcycle accident in his 20s, had requested a room fitted for people with disabilities, including a shower bench.
In the deposition, recorded on February 9th and partially released by the court this week, Tynan said the bench collapsed and he fell. "I was ripping angry because, you know, first of all, there was no facility there for me to call anybody," he said. "They apologised profusely and I accepted that." He told a staff member that he was not the type of person who sued.
Tynan, who practised as an orthopaedic doctor, initially thought he had hurt his wrist but he realised his injuries were much more serious while sitting in an aircraft 12 hours later.
"I started to develop unbelievable pain, unbelievable," he told the court, before explaining that he started to feel a burning sensation. "I can remember sitting in the plane, leaning to the side and the perspiration was oozing out from me."
Two or three days after the accident, "things got really crazy" and he called the hotel to complain of arm and neck pains.