A woman who says she suffered second-degree burns after the top came off a cup of hot water served to her at a McDonald’s in the Westchester area is suing the restaurant conglomerate, alleging employees deliver hot water and tea in a negligent manner to drive-through customers.
Lynne Gipson filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against McDonald’s Restaurants of California, Inc. The suit states that consumers like Gipson receive inadequate warnings of the “unique harm” they face when served hot water by McDonald’s employees.
Gipson seeks unspecified damages. A McDonald’s representative did not immediately reply to an email asking for comment.
According to the complaint, Gipson was using the drive-through at the McDonald’s at 5223 Century Boulevard in Los Angeles on June 2, 2012. She ordered food and a cup of hot water, the suit states.
After the employee passed the water to Gipson, the lid on the cup “popped off, causing the scalding water to spill onto her hand, stomach and lap,” the suit states.
“Ms. Gipson yelled out in pain as a result of the hot water spilling upon her,” the suit states. “The drive-through attendant stated that she was sorry because the cups were new and were being tried out.”
No employee offered Gipson help, according to the suit.
Gipson parked her car until she was able to drive, then went home and applied ointment to the burn areas on her skin, the suit states. Her pain worsened and her doctor the next day told her she had second-degree burns to her thigh and stomach, the suit states.
Gipson’s movements were restricted while she stayed home to recuperate and she felt pain for several months, the suit states.
“(Gipson) still feels sensitivity in the burned areas, which are now scarred,” the suit states.
In 1994, a New Mexico civil jury awarded $2.86 million to Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman who suffered third-degree burns in her pelvic region when she accidentally spilled hot coffee in her lap after purchasing it from a McDonald’s restaurant. Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days while she underwent skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment.
