$500,000 settlement in new hot coffee case

 A settlement has just been reached in America which will see a New York-based family receive around $500,000 in compensation as a near three year legal wrangle has finally come to an end.

Back in 2012 a young girl, then aged just 14 months, suffered severe first- and second-degree burns over her body when she inadvertently pulled a cup of scolding hot coffee off a Denny’s table.

The incident, which happened in Angola, New York, caused the child’s parents, Jose Adames and Sally Irizarry, to make a claim against the restaurant and their owners. The pair claimed that the waitress was negligent in placing a hot beverage so close to the edge of the table and within their infant’s reach.

After numerous back and forth movements the case finally made it to court last month.

“Sometime after the family is seated, a cup of coffee is placed on the table, which the [child] was able to grab and dump on herself,” noted the family in the accompanying documents.

Evidence was also provided that showed that their child will require a substantial amount of medical care during her lifetime, something which was estimated to cost in excess of $340,000.

But the insurance group for G.B Restaurants, who owned the now-closed Denny’s, interrupt proceedings and offered to pay the family a near $500,000 sum.

The final settlement which has been approved by Judge Hugh B. Scott of the United States Magistrates is of a confidential amount, but many close to the case believe it to be in the region of the $500,000 initially proposed.

John McCandles who represented the infant’s family said that no comment would be forthcoming due to a confidentiality clause.

This case harks back to the infamous Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case which grabbed national attention in the early 1990s. Then, McDonald’s admitted to regularly serving its coffee at 180°F.

Coffee by its nature will always be hot, but it never should be served at a temperature which can cause serious damage.

photo: Mike Mozart (Flickr)