Woman Scalded by Cup of Coffee Dropped in Her Lap Sues McDonald’s

A woman is suing a McDonald’s restaurant, saying she suffered second-degree burns when a handicapped employee at a drive-through window dropped a large cup of coffee in her lap.

Karen Muth wants at least $10,000 for medical bills, pain and suffering, and “humiliation,” according to her lawsuit, filed Aug. 2.

The suit said the handicapped employee couldn’t grip the cardboard tray and was instead trying to balance it on top of her hands and forearms when she dumped the coffee Aug. 25, 1999, scalding Muth.

“We recognize that there’s an Americans With Disabilities Act, but that doesn’t give them the right to sacrifice the safety of their customers,” said her attorney, Dan Ryan of Concord.

A $2.9-million judgment in 1992 against an Albuquerque, N.M., McDonald’s in another spilled-coffee case was reduced by a judge to $640,000 and later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. That plaintiff suffered third-degree burns and required multiple surgeries after spilling the coffee in her lap.

Ryan said that the coffee temperature in Muth’s case was equally hot--180 to 190 degrees--and that she suffered pain for six months.