VIRGINIA BEACH
The cup of Burger King coffee was hot. So hot, in fact, that when the lid popped off and the liquid spilled onto her lap, Crystal Branch suffered "severe and permanent burns to her left thigh," according to a lawsuit.
Branch has demanded $50,000 from Burger King Corp. and an unnamed employee, whom she claims in Circuit Court documents negligently handed her the cup of coffee inside a paper bag rather than a cup holder. This was during a morning drive-through visit Dec. 7, 2007, to the restaurant at 3952 Holland Road.
The employee "knew or should have known that handing coffee in a paper bag was dangerous and it was the duty of said employee to use reasonable care," according to the complaint. The lawsuit also claims the company and its employee should have known that "the coffee's temperature was far above a reasonable temperature as is reasonable in the fast- food industry."
Lawsuits filed against restaurants serving hot coffee aren't new. In perhaps the most famous case, a jury awarded nearly $2.9 million to a New Mexico woman who was scalded on her legs and groin after spilling McDonald's coffee on her lap in 1992.
A judge later reduced the award to $640,000 before the company and the woman agreed to a confidential settlement, according to news reports.
Branch, of Chesapeake, could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, Daniel J. Miller, said he was negotiating a settlement with Burger King and declined further comment. A Burger King Corp. spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on the case.
Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com
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Question
Was the coffee in the bag when it spilled? If it wasn't, so has no case. Was the bag wet? OHHH, who knows, this was over two years ago.
We can all thank Ms. Branch
We can all thank Ms. Branch and her attorney Daniel J. Miller when coffee sales, overall BK prices and insurance costs escalate to cover yet another frivolous lawsuit in this overly litigious society. There are too many damn lawyers in America.
I can see the lawyers interview now....
Yes mam uhh huh and you say the coffee you infact did order was hot uhh huh very interesting!!
Last worry!
If I faced a lawsuit similar to this the last thing this POS need worry about would be the hot cooffee!
Free money
Once again just trying to get a free handout. Cant fix stupid.
I dont doubt this is real
The last time i was at this Burger King ( about a year ago), the place was digusting filthy. The employees were rude beyond explanation. When I showed the manager all the food splattered on the walls and the tables she just shrugged her shoulders. Most burger Kings are closed in VB, this one is the worse.
although the employee should
although the employee should have known better than to hand over any liquid inside a bag to a customer... that was a huge mistake, but not one that should end in a lawsuit for 50 grand
$50,000 for a cup of
$50,000 for a cup of coffee. that is ridiculous. if someone hands you a cup of coffee in a paper bag, you should have enough common sense to not take it, and to ask for a drink holder. i think this woman is either very angry (at herself or the employee, i do not know) or just not smart... you should know that coffee comes HOT, and the cups say "CAUTION contains hot liquids" i really hope that employee does not lose their job over this woman
Not too many attorneys
take these cases. They get emabarassed at having to be that unprofessional. Does the term "ambulance chaser" apply?
I need this lawyers phone #
I want to sue the STANLEY TOOL CO. I was just out in my garage attempting to drive a 12D nail into a 2x4. It was an obvious malfunction of the hammer that caused it to diveiate from its intended course of the 12D and land squarely on the Thumbnail of my left hand. Mr Stanley should have realized that this is a very dangerous tool that seems to have a mind of it's own. The pain and suffering will probably last for days and I might even loose the use of that nail. Plus I am so distraught right now I probably won't be able to be in the same room as that dangerous tool for a long time, if ever again. I also need a lawyer that can explain this nightmare to my wife, the project was her idea. HEY, maybe I can sue her too?
Another Suit
I bit into a really hot french fry one time....and ate a piece of really hot pizza and burned the roof of my mouth. Can I sue.
funny
Funny the idea that we can dismiss this woman's injuries and her right to due process based on a couple of paragraphs. Thank goodness that the courts are still still available to everyone. Celebrate the fact that if you are ever injured you retain the right to seek compensation.
didnt the woman have enough
didnt the woman have enough sense to realize that if someone puts a cup of coffee in a bag that its a good idea to get it out? or are we as a nation too dependent on other people doing things for us that we have become too ignorant to look out for ourselves ???if he would have handed her a lit stick of dynomite would she have held it untill it exploded...just more of the im not responsible for my own actions,its always someone else's fault
Well Freddy, if you ever see
Well Freddy, if you ever see me complain about spilling coffee on myself, you can just shoot me. Refusing personal responsibility in such a basic manner would rule out most of my day to day activities and there would not be much else to live for.
Fast Buck
Too bad our court systems didn't rule on stupidity and ignorance, and common sense. Not too many people would win a case.
free meal at most?
Man, I'd be PO'd, too, but I think at the MOST I'd demand my meal be free, and maybe my next one as well. If a real waiter spills something on you, like soup or whatever, I think that's the standard gong rate for accidents.
Shouldn't be eating fast food anyway...not good for you.
Do You Dodge Jury Duty?
For all the people on her complaining about the system and the payment of large awards - how many of you have not dodged jury duty? I'm not a plaintiff's lawyer - I defend corporations when they get sued. I'd give my right arm to show up in court and have my jury pool actually represent the city in which I'm located. But no - all the doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, business owners and other educated and employed Americans DODGE jury duty, leaving the plaintiff to gleefully fill the jury with a jury far more willing to pay out huge sums of money. And by the way, if any of you ever actually read the McDonald's case, you'd realize why she won that sum of money - the facts were pretty bad, and I am not easily impressed by personal injury claims.
I got called for jury duty but did not get picked
so now I wait two years before I get put into the pool again. I did not try to get out of it. Just luck of the draw I did not get picked. Does not matter as the accused in all three potential cases plead guilty to lesser charges without going to trial. Even those jurors selected did not have to decide a case. I got my $12. woot, I'm RICH I tell you, filthy rich!
Funny, the idea that this
Funny, the idea that this will make the world safer is the standard explanation given by lawyers when dealing with litigation reform. Then we watch our system of free enterprise crumble, our economies collapse, then everyone wants the government to fix it. They fail to notice that the government is in fact run by lawyers, and reform is limited as they now have a better source of income: tax dollars.
It simply is not suistainable. It makes us no safer to sue our way into a perceived sense of safety. People simply quit looking out for themselves, you know, dropping coffee in their own lap and such.
The lady injured herself-period. People such as this are destroying our country.
Ps. The low amount of suit is really just a request for settlement. They aimed high in hopes of it being reduced for less than legal fees. Then slimy lawyer walks with a quick payday w/o court.
I have been to that same BK
I have been to that same BK and received coffee in a bag. Had I not asked for my coffee I would not have known that it was in the bag. Granted the woman should have realized that she ordered hot coffee and it could burn her if spilled, but to be given hot liquid in a bag-that increases the chances of someone getting hurt. The warning labels are on the cup, not the outside of a bag.