Myrtle Beach woman, elderly mother become trapped in hotel elevator, suit claims
Two Myrtle Beach hotel guests were about to check out from their hotel when they became trapped in an elevator with no way to contact help, a lawsuit filed Friday in Horry County claims.
The guests, a woman and her elderly mother, were staying at the Hotel Blue Resort at 705 S. Ocean Blvd., according to the lawsuit. The suit names the hotel, the owner of the property and the company that operates the hotel, Tropical Winds Inc., as defendants. The suit was filed by Tennille Nelson.
Hotel management did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday morning. The property owner could not be reached for comment.
When the elevator malfunctioned the morning of April 7, 2025, trapping the pair inside, the conditions quickly became “hot, unventilated, and dangerously confined,” the lawsuit says. The woman and her mother both have pre-existing health conditions, making the rising heat threaten to trigger a “severe” medical episode, according to the lawsuit.
The emergency phone system inside the elevator was not functioning, the lawsuit claims, though the pair attempted to use it several times. They also attempted to activate the elevator alarm several times, but it did not summon any response from hotel staff or emergency personnel, the lawsuit claims.
The pair banged on the elevator doors and held down the alarm button, calling for help for about 20 minutes, the lawsuit states.
The hotel’s front desk was unmanned during checkout hours that day, and the front office was locked, the lawsuit states. There was also no emergency contact information posted anywhere, according to the lawsuit.
Eventually, two cleaning staff members heard the calls from the elevator, and helped to open the elevator doors from the outside, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims that the elevator and its emergency system had a history of malfunctions that the hotel knew about before the incident took place.
The plaintiff suffered throat pain, hoarseness and vocal cord swelling because of the incident, the lawsuit claims. She is suing for actual and punitive damages to exceed $100,000.
