£1670 for exploding shower door at pool- please help

[Showerexplosion]

My children attended a hotel swimming pool with my mum where they all have membership. A few weeks ago a shower door exploded while they were in the changing rooms. My mother maintains that my children did not touch the door and that it simply exploded.

Neither of my children were hit by the broken glass despite both being in only swimming costumes.

Today she received an email stating:

At approximately 16:10, the glass shower door in the ladies’ changing room was found shattered. Photographic evidence is attached. You reported the damage to Reception at that time, but no explanation was provided. Given the seriousness of the situation and the safety risks posed to other guests, we immediately initiated a full and detailed investigation.

As part of this investigation, we commissioned an independent professional specialising in glass safety and installation to assess the damaged door. Their expert conclusion was clear: the door did not fail due to a defect or spontaneous breakage. The shattering was consistent with improper handling or misuse, and not with normal or appropriate use of the facility.

We also reviewed our CCTV footage covering the Spa and Wellness area. The footage confirms that only yourself, xxxxxx and xxxxxx were present in the changing facilities during the time the damage occurred. No other individuals entered the area before or during the incident. This evidence, combined with the professional assessment, leaves no doubt that the door was broken due to inappropriate use while your grandsons were in the changing room.

The cost of replacing the door is £1,674.00. A detailed breakdown of the replacement cost is attached for your review and we request that you notify your insurers of this cost as we are seeking reimbursement of the replacement of this shower door caused by your actions.

In addition, due to the seriousness of the incident, the safety implications, and the behaviour that led to the damage, we have taken the decision to cancel both xxxxx and xxxxx memberships with immediate effect.

Are we liable for this cost? Are we entitled to a refund for the cancelled memberships - we have only used one month of a 3 month membership for both of them.

I include the pictures they sent me. Any help with how to respond greatly appreciated.

Yes it can do, if badly fitted

@Showerexplosion They wrote "and the behaviour that led to the damage," - what behaviour that led to the damage? They have no evidence of any "behaviour" that led to the damage unless they have CCTV in the showers (which I'm sure/I hope they don't!).
Check with your DM exactly what she said to the Reception staff when she reported the shattered door - did she tell them it had spontaneously shattered when she and your DSs were nowhere near it? If so, I would reply stating you are not liable for the cost of repair since your DSs were nowhere near the door when it shattered and your DM who reported it at the time told the Reception staff this. I would also challenge them on what "behaviour" they are claiming led to the damage and what evidence do they have of this alleged behaviour? And finally, ask why they haven't sent a copy of their independent professional glass specialist's report showing how he has arrived at his conclusions that it was improper handling that caused it to break?
I think they're trying it on OP and, so long as your DM can give you a clear account of exactly what did happen, I would challenge them. It is not uncommon for tempered safety glass to spontaneously fail for a number of reasons (nickel sulfide inclusions in the glass expanding under heat, thermal stress from uneven heating, installation flaws and frame-related damage), so it's crucial that their specialist's report clearly shows why spontaneous shattering isn't the explanation in this case.

Not sure whether the double negative was confusing, but I'm saying the children didn't hit it.

Happened to my shower door. I had just got out of the shower, and was drying myself at the other side of the bathroom. It went bang really loudly, and then just went everywhere. I was finding glass around the house for about a fortnight.
I would be more concerned that this doesn't look totally like safety glass, which should shatter into small cubes, and not big sections. I'd be pushing the health club to claim on their insurance. Unless they've got clear evidence of one of the kids bashing it, or something, it's not your fault.

Yes I did the same 😂 I was like wait a minute 🤔

I think though she might be saying that even if the children did hit it, then the glass was a hazard to begin with because it shouldn't be breaking when children incidentally hit it.

They've not sent you a copy of their expert report and just expect you to believe them?

I doubt there is a report or why wouldn't they include it?
Sounds like they've used chatgpt and they don't have a leg to stand on.

So glad your boys weren't hurt.

My partner was working from home and heard an almighty crash from the bathroom. Our shower screen had shattered everywhere without anyone being near it. Scary!

I agree @SalmonOnFinnCrisp

Seek legal advice @Showerexplosion. Your children and Mum could have be seriously hurt and I’m gobsmacked that the hotel isn’t crawling to you for fear of being sued. You def. need to see the CCTV and that will also help you to confirm whether there really were no witnesses.

It’s called nickel sulphide inclusions and it’s a manufacturing flaw that causes spontaneous shattering. I bet their “expert” is just a jobsworth installer.

Tell them you’ll be appointing your own expert member of the glass and glazing federation to write your own detailed report…. Then just do nothing and hope it all goes away!! If they don’t go away, ask them when your own expert can visit and inspect the glass (I bet they’ve already chucked it away!)

yes glass can just explode , it has happened in our home twice , once patio doors exploded when no one was in the room , we just heard a loud crashing sound , 2nd time our raised oven door exploded , luckily our toddler had just left the kitchen

I honestly thought that they had offered you that money in compensation NOT that you owed them the money. That’s shocking

My dd was in university student accommodation. She was in her bedroom when the shower glass in the bathroom spontaneously exploded. The uni tried to charge her 600. Dh wrote in and asked the uni what measures they take to ensure a safe environment for students and that they are liable for putting dd at risk of injury if she had been in the bathroom at the time.

The uni backed down.

Yes shower doors do explode! Happened whilst o was in the shower washing my daughter

I was in a Starbucks once and a huge glass window panel just shattered! Noone had touched it.

Yep!

I never knew glass could explode, you learn something new everyday! Sorry OP, not much help..

This exact same thing happened to me at a certain well-known health club chain. The shower glass wall exploded. I was furious because I received no apologies or vouchers. I was put at risk - and so were your children. See a lawyer.

I had a new double glazed window explode inwards. Scared the life out of me - I thought someone had shot at me.

Myself and dis (10 months) were home alone. Early January- I was putting away the Christmas decorations. I had just lifted my son from the window seat and turned my back when I heard an explosion behind me. As far as I remember it was explained the glass in the window which was quite big must have had a weak spot and my son must have tapped on that-spot with a toy a few minutes earlier.

OMG how awful.

The impact could have happened way before it broke. The fixings may have been too tight etc. How can the expert draw their conclusion? Is the expert also the provider of the door? If so they have skin in the game and are not independent.

Ask for cctv of the incident and 7 days before the incident so you can see if any collisions with it arose prior to your mum and xxx and xxx attendance. They can obscure people's faces.

Ask when the door was installed by whom and evidence of any maintenance undertaken.

Ask how many doors have been broken in the last 7 years.

Research the door and see if there are other incidents.

Tbh they should be using materials that can take some bumps in public places anyway, so it's their bad choice.

And yes I think they can make a claim on your mum's household insurance.

Check the T&C ref cancelling memberships.

Are your mum, xxx and xxx traumatised by the incident? If so and you can show it was not caused by your family, you have a claim.

We've had a window spontaneously explode, so it is possible. How do they imagine the children smashed the door to that extent without getting injured themselves if they were in bathing suits? I doubt a child even if they were messing about could smash a shower door like that, it should be shatterproof and be able to withstand someone (an adult) pushing it hard.

They have 0 proof anyway, it is just your word against theirs and they have a thing called insurance for stuff like this. They should he more concerned with making sure the place is safe if they have defective doors than chasing you. What if this had happened with someone in the shower and they were injured, would they be pursuing the cost of fixing the door or do you think the person injured by it would be pursuing them for compensation...?

They are trying it on. You will probably lose the cost of your remaining membership, I imagine they will say it falls under some terms and conditions, even though you weren't responsible for the damage. I absolutely would not be paying to fix this though, even if they had cctv of your child pushing the door open and it broke surely all that would prove is the doors weren't fit for purpose and they would be offering you compensation for potential injury to your child.

Spontaneous shattering of glass doors like this can and does happen. It happened to our oven door and a friend's shower screen. Write back and tell them their attempt to intimidate you will not work, your sons are innocent and were nowhere near the door when it spontaneously shattered. The evidence they have is pure conjecture and their case would be laughed out of court if they attempt to sue you, due to the enormous number of people who would be able to testify that such spontaneous events are common enough that this is a far more reasonable explanation.

I thought you were going to say you’d been offered the £1670 for your inconvenience of having their shower door explode on you and the children. The fact they are expecting you to pay is completely ludicrous.

Yes I’ve had it happen to a window, they are chancers.

explode:

burst or shatter violently and noisily as a result of rapid combustion, decomposition, excessive internal pressure, or other process, typically scattering fragments widely.

Toughened glass has enough elastic strain energy stored within it to explode, for some reasonable definition of the word.

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned but properly manufactured toughened glass is almost impossible to break deliberately; you have to hit it with a hardened steel point (like the emergency hammers you see next to train windows). It’s most unlikely a small child would be able to break such a door without a specialist tool, unless it had a manufacturing defect. In which case it could let go without warning all by itself.

thats kind of the point of toughened glass - it’s really really tough. Else it wouldn’t be suitable for making rimless shower doors from.