Woman Says Coffee Scalded Her, Sues Burger King
SKOKIE, Ill. (STMW) -- A woman claims she was burned when she was handed coffee without a secured lid at a Burger King in north suburban Skokie, according to a suit filed Friday.
Magalys Garriga was a customer in the drive-through of a Burger King, located at 5315 W. Touhy Ave, on Aug. 26, 2009, when she ordered coffee and food items, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Court.
The suit claims that Garriga was handed coffee without the lid being securely placed on the cup, which spilled onto her body and severely burned her arm.
The lawsuit filed Friday is reminiscent of a famous 1990s lawsuit against McDonald's, in which an elderly woman customer said she was seriously scalded by excessively hot coffee that she spilled on her lap. The case was ultimately settled out of court, but it fueled debate about the need for tort reforms in the legal system.
Garriga claims she immediately reported the incident to the store manager and sought medical attention.
Her suit claims that the unsecured hot coffee cup was unsafe to be served to Garriga and was reasonably foreseeable to cause harm to her. The suit also claims that employees were not properly trained to ensure that the coffee cups were properly secured and would not spill onto customers.
The two-count suit claims negligence and strict liability. The suit seeks more than $100,000 in damages and court costs.
Spokespeople for CH James Restaurant Holdings LLC, the owner of the Burger King franchise, and Burger King Corporation were not immediately available for comment Friday evening.
