MEMPHIS (CelebrityAccess) A tourist from Switzerland is suing the Elvis Presley estate after an alleged incident at the Guest House at Graceland caused personal injury and marital unrest.
Hans-Peter Gauch claims in a lawsuit, obtained by The Blast, that he and his daughter visited Presley’s home in Memphis last October and stayed at the nearby Guest House when a fire alarm went off around 8 a.m. Gauch claims it was “extremely loud” and near his right ear.
Gauch says he and his daughter tried to escape the hotel but the exits were not accurately marked and the elevators were shut down. They went back to their room “deeply concerned for their safety,” and Gauch called the front desk and was told it was likely a false alarm. The alarm allegedly stopped after 30 minutes and the elevators began working again.
“Once the fire alarm was no longer sounding, Mr. Gauch noticed the presence of a significant whistling noise in both of his ears,” the lawsuit reportedly says. “He had to go to the emergency department of a local hospital where they determined he had ‘Tinnitus’ which is a condition involving the perception of noise which is considered to be a problematic issue that can cause ‘severe and debilitating’ symptoms.”
His doctor in Switzerland apparently had the same diagnosis and tinnitus caused him “severe, permanent and debilitating bodily injury to his hearing ability.” He claims he requires “prescription-strength sleeping medication” that keeps him from working in the morning and requires him to work afternoons. Meanwhile, his condition “altered his speech pattern” and he “suffers the loss of enjoyment of physical activites he used to enjoy in life with his wife.”
The couple remains married by Gauch says he has moved out of the house because of the condition. He is suing the Elvis Presley estate and the hotel for negligence and seeking damages in excess of $75,000, according to The Blast. There was no comment from the estate at press time.
