'Nobody Helped Her Whatsoever': Elderly Woman Sues McDonald's For 'Severe Burns' After Spilling Hot Coffee Mable Childress, a woman in her 80s, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court last week.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
McDonald's is facing another alleged burn lawsuit, and the company is not exactly Lovin' It.
Mable Childress, a woman in her 80s, filed a lawsuit with the San Francisco Superior Court last week alleging that she had suffered "severe burns" and "emotional distress" claiming that employees did not put the lid on her beverage properly when she was handed her order in the drive-thru.
"She was injured severely from McDonald's negligence," Childress' lawyer, Dylan Hackett, told local outlet SFGATE in a statement. "She's an elderly lady, and she was waiting for over an hour to speak to a manager, and a manager never spoke to her. They didn't give her the time of day. … Nobody helped her whatsoever. She had to get to the hospital herself."
Childress and her legal counsel maintain that still has pain in her "groin area" as a result of the incident and being "ignored" by staff.
She is currently seeking seven-figure retribution according to Hackett, though the exact monetary value was not disclosed.
McDonald's did not immediately respond to BIZ Experiences's request for comment, but the franchise owner of the location where Childress was allegedly burned, Peter Ou, said that his team is currently reviewing her accusations in a statement to TODAY.
"My restaurants have strict food safety protocols in place, including training crew to ensure lids on hot beverages are secure," Ou told the outlet. "We take every customer complaint seriously — and when Ms. Childress reported her experience to us later that day, our employees and management team spoke to her within a few minutes and offered assistance. We're reviewing this new legal claim in detail."
Earlier this summer, McDonald's was ordered to pay a Florida family $800,000 after a 4-year-old was allegedly disfigured by burns brought on by a chicken nugget in 2019.
"This momentous decision brings meaningful closure to an arduous and protracted legal process. Having previously established the defendants, Upchurch Foods Inc and McDonald's USA LLC, as liable for their wrongful actions, this verdict reaffirms that they must now face the consequences and provide full justice," the family's legal team said in a statement at the time.
Related: Sarah Michelle Gellar: I Was Sued by McDonald's at Age 5
Similarly, in 1992, a woman named Stella Liebeck infamously won a $2.7 million suit against McDonald's for burns she suffered after a hot coffee spilled in her lap.
