An exclusive country club in Hawaii is being threatened with legal action after a golfer was found severely injured and disabled in its sauna, according to local media.
Retired realtor Yoshinori "Ken" Hayashida entered the sauna at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on April 30, 2023, and his attorney, Robert Miyashita, told Hawaii News Now that he fell unconscious there for two hours before anybody checked on him.
Robert Miyashita and the Waialae Country Club have both been contacted for comment via online form and email, respectively.
Why It Matters
In Hawaii, legal regulations only stipulate that saunas must be fitted with a thermostat that limits the temperature to "not greater than 194°F (90°C)," that sauna heaters have a guard to prevent accidental contact, and that they are fitted according to their manuals. They do not require frequent check-ups or alarms.
Places such as New York City have much stricter legal guidelines and regulations for sauna safety. For example, sauna operators in New York are required by law to have an automatic one-hour timer or an attendant who checks the room every 15 minutes, an alarm system, and a free-swinging door to easily view the inside the sauna.
What To Know
According to Miyashita, the Waialae Country Club did not have safety protocols in place such as a panic button or frequent wellness checks for sauna users. He said Hayashida incurred fourth degree burns and brain damage that is irreversible after he left the sauna with a body temperature so high it could not be measured. The 80 year-old is now living in a care home in Japan, where his wife, Sanae Yokota, says he is semi-conscious, per Hawaii News Now.
She has threatened a lawsuit to try to try to get the country club to accept responsibility and to raise awareness of the dangers of saunas, according to the website which added that the club's lawyers would respond when they had reviewed the suit.
Saunas are known for their health benefits of improving blood circulation, cardiovascular functioning, and even reducing arthritis, headaches, and flu.
However, guidance from Harvard Medical School advises people not to remain in a sauna for longer than 15-20 minutes, and to make sure to drink plenty of water after a sauna session. This is due to a sauna's effect on blood pressure.
John Brewer, professor of sport at the University of Bedfordshire told the BBC that eduring too-high temperatures for too long can result in hyperthermia, collapse and even coma.
People with heart disease, asthma, and high blood pressure are encouraged to only use saunas with lower temperatures.
What People Are Saying
Sanae Yokota: "I didn't know sauna was that dangerous. It could happen to you. It could happen to anybody's family."
Robert Miyashita: "[Waialae Country Club]'s refusal to take accountability forced the Hayashita family to file. This lawsuit is their intent to bring awareness."
What Happens Next
Right now any pending suit is awaiting further action. Yokota and Miyashita hope that it will bring attention to sauna safety laws in Hawaii.
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