Vernon woman suing McDonald's over burns caused by hot coffee | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Vernon News

Vernon woman suing McDonald's over burns caused by hot coffee

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/pxfuel

A Vernon woman has launched a $9,800 lawsuit against McDonald's after she badly scalded herself on a hot cup of coffee.

Inna Turchin filed a notice of claim against McDonald's Restaurants of Canada at the Vernon courthouse Jan. 17, for the incident she alleges took place in November 2019.

According to the notice of claim, Turchin ordered a small latte at McDonald's but the lid on the cup was not closed properly and when she went to drink the coffee the hot liquid spilled on her, burning her skin and ruining her clothes. The incident took place at McDonald's 58 Ave, Vernon.

Pain from the burns caused by the latte meant Turchin went to Vernon Jubilee Hospital emergency room. The court documents say a doctor diagnosed burns to her breasts and abdomen area and told her to take several days off work, take painkillers as needed, apply an ointment and not to cover the burns.

“Burns were in such a sensitive area of my body that (it) made it difficult to sleep,” reads the document. “I had blisters on my breasts and abdomen which turned into seeping wounds.”

Turchin also said the injuries “limited her ability to function and concentrate on the job, do activities or exercise enough.”

The court documents also say the burns have left scars which are darker than her natural skin colour and it makes her anxious the scars will be permanent.

Turchin says the McDonald's employee was negligent in not putting the lid on the coffee properly, although the suit does not name the member of staff. The court documents also say a supervisor at the fast-food restaurant was called to address and record the incident.

While the case of American Stella Liebeck made international headlines in the nineties when she sued McDonald's and a jury awarded her millions of dollars after she accidentally spilled hot coffee on herself, Turchin isn't asking for anywhere near that amount.

Filed at the small claims court, the statement of claim asks for $8,000 for pain and suffering, $1250 for loss of wages and $50 for medical expenses. Turchin is also asking for $380 for cover the cost of a handmade alpaca cardigan she was wearing at the time. With fees, it totals $9,856.

McDonald's has not yet filed a response.

— This story was corrected 1:40 p.m. Jan 22, 2020. An earlier version of this story said Stella Liebeck sued for millions of dollars, she in fact sued for $20,000 and was awarded millions by a jury, although settled for a different amount.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2020
iNFOnews

  • Popular vernon News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile