In August last year, Evan Arlington and his wife would enjoy a nice cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts in Totowa, New Jersey.
The former lost the cup in his lap, and received second and third degree hot coffee roasts.
Now Arlington and his wife, Stephanie Arlington-Macias, have filed a lawsuit against the donut giant.
The couple demands compensation for “mental pain and disturbance”, local channel reports Northern Jersey.
Don’t believe their own eyes
– Big loss
The couple’s lawyer, William Gold, said: Fox Business that the couple sued Dunkin’ Donuts to compensate for some of Evan Arlington’s hospital bills.
They also wanted money because Stephanie Arlington-Macias “was losing her husband’s help, comfort, marital union, and cooperation.”
It is not yet known how much the couple wanted in compensation.
Cardiac arrest on the way: – Who saved me?
Need answers
The couple demanded that Dunkin’ Donuts answer a number of questions, such as how hot the chain coffee should be when they served it, and how hot it should be when served to Arlington.
They also wanted answers on how hot coffee should be for someone to get second- and third-degree burns.
Dunkin’ Donuts has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
Rare syndrome: Vomiting ten times a day
Get 23 million
This is far from the first time someone has sued a restaurant chain after spilling hot coffee on his lap.
The most famous is American Stella Liebeck (79), who in 1992 sued McDonald’s after she spilled coffee on her lap and suffered third-degree burns.
He was hospitalized for eight days after the coffee spill, which occurred outside a McDonald’s branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
IN COURT: Stella Liebeck from Albuquerque was awarded NOK 23 million in compensation after she spilled hot coffee on her lap. Photo: Joe Maquette / AP
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Liebeck’s attorney argued that the heat content warning on the cup was not sufficient for a take-away cup.
He was awarded $2.7 million, that is, 23 million kroner, in compensation.
Boy (5) suffocated by button battery
– Not doing it for money
Subsequently, a judge reduced the total amount to 640,000 dollars.
Liebeck and McDonald’s later reached an agreement between them on a hitherto unknown amount. According to reports, however, the amount should be around half a million dollars.
“I don’t do it for the money, but so that they lower the temperature of the coffee, so people don’t have to go through the same thing as me,” Liebeck said in an interview featured in a documentary from site report.
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