MGM Resorts International’s Luxor Las Vegas is famous for having one very energy intensive light on the property (pictured). But one recent guest is claiming he had trouble with a powerful light of a different kind.
David Van Horn, a schoolteacher from Michigan, says he was staying at the Luxor in November 2023 when he tapped his hotel room light and it zapped him with electricity. Horn says he was thrown across the room by the power of the jolt, hitting his head against a nearby chair.
This week, he filed a two-count lawsuit over the incident in a Nevada district court. He seeks financial compensation for his medical bills, and lost employment because of his injuries from the incident.
The Incident
According to Horn’s lawsuit, the incident occured on November 2, 2023, when Horn and his wife were in their room at the Luxor.
Horn went to use one of the room’s touch-operated lamps, when it allegedly zapped him with a jolt of electricity that sent him flying, the lawsuit alleges. He claims he hit his head on a nearby chair before falling to the floor.
Horn says the electrocution caused him severe pain and shock, and that the impact of hitting his head caused a long-term brain injury. This led to post-traumatic stress after the incident, and he now also has a stutter, dizziness, and memory issues.
All those factors stemming from the incident, Horn says, forced him into taking retirement from his teaching job four years earlier than planned.
The suit says that MGM and Luxor were negligent in not replacing the allegedly damaged light, which it says they would have known about.
The lawsuit was filed in the Eighth Judicial District Circuit Court of Nevada.
MGM Lawsuits
It is highly possible that all parties involved in this case can count themselves lucky this incident wasn’t deadly.
MGM is currently facing at least half-a-dozen lawsuits over deaths at its Las Vegas casino resort properties in the past two years. Although, with so many visitors to Sin City each year, such fatal incidents have never been particularly rare.
One involved a visitor from Canada who slipped and fell in the pool at Excalibur Las Vegas, dying of his injuries days later. Another was a guest at MGM’s Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, who died of an allergic reaction after he was served shellfish in a meal at the resort’s Beauty & Essex restaurant – despite telling staff he had an allergy.
Both lawsuits claim wrongful death of the plaintiff against the casino operator. They also allege negligence from MGM properties’ staff, whom they claim could have taken actions that would have saved the plaintiffs’ lives.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
