A woman sued McDonald’s Wednesday for burns she alleges she received from hot coffee that spilled onto her after she bought a cup with an unsecured or defective lid at a drive-through at a Koreatown location of the fast food chain.
Pamela Shahabi’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges negligence, strict products liability and breaches of both the implied warranty of merchantability and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular use. Shahabi seeks unspecified damages.
Shahabi is represented by the Sweet James LLP law firm. A McDonald’s representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
In her suit, Shahabi says she went to the McDonald’s in the 300 block of South Vermont Avenue about 6:30 a.m. last Nov. 17, ordered a hot coffee through the drive-through speaker and then drove to the pickup window.
An employee handed Shahabi the coffee, but either the lid was not properly secured or did not fit that particular cup, the suit states. As a result, the lid fell off and hot coffee spilled onto the plaintiff’s lap, leaving her with serious burns, some of them in the second degree, on her left inner thigh and leg as well as elsewhere on her body, according to the suit.
Shahabi also contends she sustained permanent scarring.
The employee had an obligation as a McDonald’s employee to give Shahabi the coffee with its lid securely fastened or to warn her if it was not secured, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff has suffered lost earnings and severe emotional distress.