McDonald’s Hit With Hot Coffee Lawsuit in Canada

McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada faces a lawsuit from a Vernon woman who claims she was badly injured from hot McDonald’s coffee from a cup with a lid that was not closed properly.

Plaintiff Inna Turchin filed a notice of claim against McDonald’s on January 17, seeing a total of $9,856 for her injuries, lost wages, medical expenses and other losses.

According to the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit, Turchin ordered a small latte at a McDonalds restaurant in November 2019. She claims the lid was not closed properly so that when she attempted to sip the beverage, hot liquid spilled on her body, burning her skin and ruining her clothes. 

According to iNFOnews.ca, she subsequently sought treatment at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital emergency room. She was diagnosed with burns to her breasts and abdomen, according to the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit.

The doctor reportedly told her to take several days off from work, apply ointment to the affected area and take painkillers as needed.

“I had blisters on my breasts and abdomen which turned into seeping wounds,” Turchin alleges in her McDonald’s coffee lawsuit. She says the injury made it difficult to sleep and “limited her ability to function and concentrate on the job, do activities or exercise enough.”

In addition, Turchin fears that the scars left from the burns, which are darker than her natural skin tone, will be permanent.

The McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit blames the incident on an employee’s negligence for failing to put the lid on the coffee cup properly. Turchin does not name the McDonald’s employee.

According to the court documents, a supervisor at the McDonald’s restaurant addressed and documented the incident.

Turchin filed the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit in small claims court. She seeks $8,000 for pain and suffering, $1,250 for lost wages, $50 for medical expenses and $380 to reimburse her for the cost of the handmade alpaca cardigan she was wearing when the coffee spilled on her.

In 1992, a 79-year-old American named Stella Liebeck famously sued McDonald’s after she spilled hot coffee on herself and suffered third-degree burns. The burns were so severe that she required skin grafts and two years of treatment. She sought to settle the case for $20,000 but McDonald’s refused.

At trial, a jury awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages for her pain, suffering and medical expenses.

The jury also awarded Liebeck $2.7 million in punitive damages, although she reportedly reached a settlement with McDonald’s for an undisclosed amount to prevent the possibility of appeals.

Do you think the plaintiff will be successful in her $9,856 claim against McDonald’s? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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