A lawsuit filed in Florida alleges that a guest at a W Hotel in Miami Beach was seriously injured by a defective glass bathroom door and needed three brain surgeries.
The complaint filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami accuses Marriott International, W Hotel South Beach and a maintenance contractor of failing to properly inspect and maintain the door.
According to the suit, Arthur Elk, a personal injury lawyer based in Ohio, stayed at the W Hotel in Miami Beach in 2023. Following dinner, Elk went to bed before waking up at 3 a.m. to use the bathroom, which featured a frameless glass door that opened to the toilet. The complaint notes that the door was designed to close gently after use; however, the door was allegedly defective, remaining open at an “approximately 45-degree angle” (a photo of the door is embedded in the “Factual Allegations” section of the lawsuit).
Due to this, when Elk opened the door between the hotel room and bathroom, the glass door to the toilet was “at an angle which made it invisible to view and a hazard.” As he moved to the toilet, Elk’s head struck the “sharp edge” of the door. The lawsuit indicates that Elk felt pain immediately but did not realize the extent of his injuries. He eventually went back to bed and awoke to find his pillows and linens covered with blood and discovered that his head and eye were severely bruised.
Lawsuit Alleges Inspection Failures
The lawsuit alleges that Elk’s collision with the door caused a head injury that required medical treatment, three subsequent brain surgeries and continued treatment. Elk claims that the defendants failed to properly inspect and maintain the glass door and its hinges, leading to the incident. He also argues that hotel cleaning staff should have known that the glass door was defective and should have raised concerns.
The Independent reports that in response to the allegation, W Hotel management blames the incident on Elk, stating that he was negligent for “failing to take reasonable safety precautions to prevent colliding with the door leading to the toilet in the bathroom.”
The complaint does not identify the manufacturer, fabricator or installer of the glass door or its hardware.
Glass Bathroom Designs Face Renewed Scrutiny
The lawsuit comes as hotel guests question the use of glass doors in bathrooms, citing privacy concerns as the chief issue.
Paula O’Callaghan, partner at Hirsch Bedner Associates, told CNN in early 2026 that glass, especially frosted glass, has been used in luxury hotels and resorts for decades, a move she says was avant-garde at the start. The problem, she noted, is that in preceding years, the interpretations and the iterations of glass doors went astray, as far as breaking major bathroom rules, including placing the toilet in full view of guests.
“Never clear glass, and never a situation where someone can just see right in from the guestroom area,” she explained. “Even if the bathroom has been closed fully, like a traditional bathroom, we still would like to have the toilet area enclosed.”