In-N-Out sued over hot coffee

Memories of the infamous ‘Liebeck v McDonald’s Restaurants’ trial of 1994 have been brought to the fore once more after a UC Berkeley graduate is aiming to sue In-N-Out Burger over some spilt coffee.

Much like in the ‘Hot Coffee’ case, the alleged victim here, Hedy Chen, has stated she was burned after being served some “excessively hot” coffee at one of the burger chain’s Oakland stores.

Potentially adding insult to injury in a very literal sense, Miss Chen also claims that staff members who were present at the time failed to call for any medical attention.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday (22^nd May 2014).

In the document, handed in at the Alameda County Superior Court, Miss Chen asserts that she was given the hot drink without a protective paper sleeve which caused her to drop it, and its contents, onto her thighs and stomach, which resulted in excruciating pain for the recent graduate.

“She took it in her hand, but it was so hot she couldn’t hold onto it,” explained Kirk Boyd, Chen’s attorney. And he took In-N-Out to task over their apparent refusal to phone 911.

“It’s amazing that they would refuse to call,” he said, before he went on to ridicule the staffs own first-aid actions which comprised of giving Miss Chen a bag of ice.

The claim is asking for financial compensations for the injuries suffered, which include first and second degree burns which, according to the lawsuit, forced Chen to spend three days in hospital and left her with permanent scarring.

In-N-Out Burger has just under 300 locations, all situated in the South-West of the United States.

In the original ‘Hot Coffee’ case Stella Liebeck was initially awarded $2.86m after suffering third degree burns after accidentally spilling piping hot coffee on herself.

photo: Phil Whitehouse (Creative Commons)