This news article comes from a reporter at USA TODAY. Remember the 1994 "hot coffee lawsuit" in which a jury awarded an elderly New Mexico woman nearly $3 million (later appealed and settled for an undisclosed sum) because she was injured by a cup of java at a local McDonald's? Enter the "hot nacho cheese lawsuit."
A Chula Vista. Calif. couple filed suit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts this week, claiming their 4-year-old son received severe burns during dinner at Orlando's Magic Kingdom last March. According to the family's San Diego-based attorney, Sean Cahill, Isaiah Harris was injured at Cosmic Ray's Starlite Cafe when a paper cup of scalding nacho cheese splashed on his face after he'd grabbed a food tray to keep from falling out of an unsteady chair. The suit claims the child suffered "permanent scarring, pain and suffering" as a result of the burns, and his parents, Michael and Maria Harris, suffered "serious emotional distress." "The cheese should not have been that hot," said Cahill. "Nobody has a reasonable expectation that it be served at a temperature causing immediate and severe burns on contact."
When asked for comment Friday, Disney issued the following statement: "It's unfortunate when any child gets injured. We just received notice of the lawsuit and we are currently reviewing it."
I did see photos of the burn and they look bad - they are located around the mouth (upper part). I will try to track this lawsuit and see how it proceeds in the courts. I do not know when the accident happened - normally an attorney would want to send out a demand for settlement after all medicals are obtained to see if a lawsuit would even be necessary. I am not sure how this claim has navigated through the claims process prior to lawsuit being filed.
The San Diego Child Injury & Accident Attorney that offers