The Mizner Law Firm filed a lawsuit today against the Housing Authority of the City of Erie (“HACE”) on behalf of the parents of an 8 month old baby who was severely burned on December 17, 2025, at the John E. Horan Garden Apartments located at Fifth Avenue and Tacoma Road in the City of Erie.
The baby was burned by bathwater, which responding Erie Police Officers found was 165 degrees fahrenheit. The overheated water violated federal law, which requires HACE to limit residential hot water systems to 120 degrees fahrenheit.
The baby was hospitalized and diagnosed with scald injuries, resulting in severe burns to some of the most sensitive areas of her body. After the incident, HACE confirmed that the hot water tank was still generating water which was 145 degrees fahrenheit from the tap and that there was no regulator in place to restrict the water from exceeding 120 degrees fahrenheit.
According to Johns Hopkins University, “human exposure to hot water at 140°F can lead to a serious burn within 3 seconds.” The United States’ Consumer Product Safety Commission reports, “most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150 degree water for two seconds.” Small children and babies are even more vulnerable to burns from scalding hot water.
Anyone who may have a reason to use water at the John E. Horan Garden Apartments is warned that despite its legal obligations, HACE is not ensuring that the water heaters in its residential housing do not raise the water temperature beyond 120 degrees fahrenheit to prevent scalding and burns. Anyone who comes in contact with tap water at the John E. Horan Garden Apartments is warned that they are at risk of being burned by excessively hot tap water.
The Complaint can be found here.