Do Food Related Burn Injuries Qualify as Personal Injury?
If you have ever taken a spoonful of hot soup and placed it in your mouth without blowing on it to cool it down a bit, you may have scalded your mouth a bit. This is something that can happen at home or at a restaurant, and most people don't worry about it because they are fine in a few minutes. However, there are many serious burn injuries that are caused to individuals from food that has been served at excessively high temperatures in restaurants and fast food establishments. You may have wondered if food related burn injuries qualify as personal injury. The answer is yes.
One man suffered serious burns on his lips while trying to eat a fried chicken sandwich and is suing for damages. Many people have heard about the hot coffee from McDonalds that scalded a woman after she placed it between her legs to put cream and sugar in it and it spilled all over her legs and caused third degree burns. She sued the company and after a lengthy battle, she received compensation for her injuries and loss of wages and was also awarded punitive damages.
Some people feel this was a frivolous lawsuit with a high price tag. What most people don't realize about this case is that she was hospitalized for over a week and had to receive skin grafts and was unable to work for over two years. The punitive damages awarded were also very high, and some of the media thought it was a ridiculous amount to pay for punitive damages for one woman's pain. However, what they don't tell you is that there were over 700 documented cases of burns from McDonald's hot coffee over the preceding ten years. The court wanted to send a message to the company that they had better make some changes and take better care of their customers.
In fact, restaurants and other establishments that are open to the general public have a responsibility to provide safe premises and minimize injury to their customers as much as is reasonable. By serving food that is extremely hot without any kind of warning is absolutely careless. Even having a waiter explain that the plate is hot is not enough if the food is served at dangerously high temperatures. A burn is not something you want to take home from your favorite restaurant or coffee shop, and if you do, you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
As you may know, burns can be very damaging to the skin and can result in the need for skin grafts or even surgery to correct. This type of damage can be emotionally scarring to the patient as well as expensive to take care of. There is also a greater risk for infections to occur because the skin is not providing protection. With all of these possible problems, you can see why it is important to contact a personal injury attorney to help you know whether your injury is sufficient to warrant a case against the coffee shop or restaurant. Your El Paso personal injury lawyer will help you get the compensation that you are entitled to.
One man suffered serious burns on his lips while trying to eat a fried chicken sandwich and is suing for damages. Many people have heard about the hot coffee from McDonalds that scalded a woman after she placed it between her legs to put cream and sugar in it and it spilled all over her legs and caused third degree burns. She sued the company and after a lengthy battle, she received compensation for her injuries and loss of wages and was also awarded punitive damages.
Some people feel this was a frivolous lawsuit with a high price tag. What most people don't realize about this case is that she was hospitalized for over a week and had to receive skin grafts and was unable to work for over two years. The punitive damages awarded were also very high, and some of the media thought it was a ridiculous amount to pay for punitive damages for one woman's pain. However, what they don't tell you is that there were over 700 documented cases of burns from McDonald's hot coffee over the preceding ten years. The court wanted to send a message to the company that they had better make some changes and take better care of their customers.
In fact, restaurants and other establishments that are open to the general public have a responsibility to provide safe premises and minimize injury to their customers as much as is reasonable. By serving food that is extremely hot without any kind of warning is absolutely careless. Even having a waiter explain that the plate is hot is not enough if the food is served at dangerously high temperatures. A burn is not something you want to take home from your favorite restaurant or coffee shop, and if you do, you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
As you may know, burns can be very damaging to the skin and can result in the need for skin grafts or even surgery to correct. This type of damage can be emotionally scarring to the patient as well as expensive to take care of. There is also a greater risk for infections to occur because the skin is not providing protection. With all of these possible problems, you can see why it is important to contact a personal injury attorney to help you know whether your injury is sufficient to warrant a case against the coffee shop or restaurant. Your El Paso personal injury lawyer will help you get the compensation that you are entitled to.