(VitalNews.org) – A 70-year-old woman from Georgia, who was severely burned by an extremely hot cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee a few years ago, just won her lawsuit against the fast food company and received a settlement of $3 million.
In February 2021, the Georgia woman purchased a cup of coffee from a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in Sugar Hill, Georgia. When handed the coffee, the lid on the cup came off, and the coffee spilled all over the woman, burning her abdomen, thighs, and groin. According to Benjamin Welch, the Morgan & Morgan attorney representing the woman’s case, his client’s life dramatically changed after the incident.
Although “America may run on Dunkin’,” Welch said, his client “had to re-learn how to walk” after suffering second and third-degree burns, which “were so severe” that the injured woman “spent weeks” at the Grady Health burn unit and also “had to entirely alter” her way of life. Welch said his client can’t walk without experiencing pain, that she must avoid the sun, and has to “apply creams and ointments” to her injuries throughout the day.
While undergoing treatment for her injuries, the woman accumulated over $200,000 in hospital bills. According to the lawsuit, the accident never would’ve happened if the Dunkin’ Donuts employee secured the coffee lid properly.
Golden Donuts, LLC, the franchisee that runs the Sugar Hill drive-thru, agreed to a settlement of $3 million for the woman in compensation for her injuries and the impact her injuries have had on her lifestyle.
Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan noted that “one of the most famous lawsuits” in the US centered around severe burns caused by “scalding coffee,” referring to the 1992 lawsuit against McDonald’s by a 79-year-old woman. Despite this fact, Morgan said that food establishments “have failed to learn their lesson” when it comes to prioritizing the safety of customers.
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