A New Jersey woman is suing a local Dunkin’, claiming she suffered severe and permanent injuries when poorly secured, “excessively hot” coffee spilled all over her.
Zina Lewis, a 58-year-old woman from East Orange, claimed in a six-count complaint filed against the chain that a worker put the wrong-sized lid on the coffee cup, the Bergen Record reported. Adding injury to insult, the coffee inside was “heated beyond industry standards,” with the two circumstances converging when the boiling hot coffee cascaded over her body and limbs.
The July 15 spill resulted in “severe and painful injuries” inside and out, Lewis’ lawsuit says, preventing her from performing her usual life activities and even requiring surgery.
Lewis said she’s been told some of the injuries are permanent, according to court records obtained by Patch.
Lewis filed the 12-page personal injury lawsuit on Nov. 15 in Superior Court in Newark, naming not only Dunkin’ but also unidentified employees and other corporate entities. She’s requesting a jury trial and unspecified damages to cover her medical bills.
The suit is reminiscent of a notorious one against McDonald’s, when New Mexico woman Stella Liebeck was awarded $2.7 million in 1992 — later reduced to $480,000 — after being burned by a cup of joe she bought from the chain.
Though Liebeck’s injuries were severe, as shown in a 2011 HBO documentary about the case, the incident spawned many late-night and sitcom riffs, the most famous among them being a 1995 “Seinfeld” episode.
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