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Spilled beverages on a flight are typically an annoyance that you just wipe yourself off and forget about. However, if the beverage is scalding hot, it’s a life-altering event. A woman was on a Delta Air Lines flight from Paris to Seattle in December 2023 when a flight attendant spilled a scalding hot cup of coffee on her. The resulting burns were so severe that she was scarred permanently. The woman, a flight attendant for a different carrier, is now suing Delta for negligence.
The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington claims the incident inflicted first and second-degree burns, according to KING. The flight attendant placed the cup on a tilted tray; it slid right off and spilled hot coffee into the woman’s lap. The suit claims the injuries were made worse because the cabin crew were dismissive of how badly the woman was burned and refused to ask if there was a doctor onboard. They told her to get changed and gave her a bag of ice. Mark Lindquist, the woman’s attorney, said in a statement:
“This coffee was excessively hot, way beyond industry standards. Even the ER doctor was shocked that coffee this hot was served on an airplane.”
The flight attendants’ urgency changed once they actually saw the woman’s burns. Once the flight landed in Seattle, the paramedics at the gate were surprised and stated the burns were the worst they had ever seen from a cup of coffee. An ER doctor who treated the woman described the burns to her hip and torso as “blistering.” The woman was unable to wear regular clothes or even shower for months as the burns healed.
This incident conjures memories of the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit or the public criticism of the case. Many pointed to the 1994 lawsuit for how frivolously Americans treat the legal system. However, McDonald’s served 79-year-old Stella Liebeck coffee that was at least 180 degrees. It spilled in her lap and she suffered third-degree burns. I like hot coffee as much as the next guy, but I don’t need it nearly boiling.
