Family sues Denny's Restaurant and wins $500k

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I had definitely 2nd degree burns.

I'm sorry but you didn't go to the hospital and aren't still dealing with the burns today.

 

[alkemyst]

I'm sorry but you didn't go to the hospital and aren't still dealing with the burns today.

2nd degree burns will heal and usually don't require medical attention.

3rd degree burns are a catch all that can include up to amputation/necrosis.

This has nothing to do with the argument though, I don't see how it's the waitresses fault as they had left the cup on the table already. The parent(s) should have realized if their own child could get to it.

If the server poured coffee directly on the child, I'd say it's definitely the server's fault.

This is a case of a parent choosing to use lapse of judgement to be compensated by someone else.

We have had auto-up windows forever now and the ability to lock out other windows from the driver's seat, still they do not usually offer auto-up rear windows due to potential lawsuits from parent's that forgot to push the button that solves the risk.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

2nd degree burns will heal and usually don't require medical attention.

3rd degree burns are a catch all that can include up to amputation/necrosis.

This has nothing to do with the argument though, I don't see how it's the waitresses fault as they had left the cup on the table already. The parent(s) should have realized if their own child could get to it.

If the server poured coffee directly on the child, I'd say it's definitely the server's fault.

This is a case of a parent choosing to use lapse of judgement to be compensated by someone else.

We have had auto-up windows forever now and the ability to lock out other windows from the driver's seat, still they do not usually offer auto-up rear windows due to potential lawsuits from parent's that forgot to push the button that solves the risk.

You weren't there, but you sure do like to talk like you were there, escorted the child to the hospital and have been dealing with her medical issues.

 

[jayzds]

I'm sorry but you didn't go to the hospital and aren't still dealing with the burns today.

2nd degree burns are generally not that bad. My son knocked over a cup of hot water on his arm and got 2nd degree burns. He has no issues and a minimal scar. We never brought him into ER/hospital. Just treated it and had a follow up with the pediatrician a week later to make sure it was fine and that was it.

 

[Wuzup101]

The main confusion is brew temps vs serving temps. There is nothing safe about SERVING coffee at 205 degrees.

The normal range for brewing is 195-205, they also recommend you let the coffee sit until it's reached 185-190ish BEFORE serving and to keep it re-heated no longer than 15 minutes for best taste.

Most restaurants need to push this window and shoot for GOOD/ACCEPTABLE taste...still after 30-60mins coffee should be dumped and re-brewed.

Now a second problem restaurants encounter is with everyone and their mobile devices, serving times are longer and more food gets sent back for being cold not because it was served cold, but because someone dicked around on-line for 15 minutes prior to eating/drinking.

As a result, some restaurants have increased the heating temps for stand-by coffee to compensate for server down time serving the same cup over and over again.

The point I was trying to make is, coffee when served is almost always "HOT" and expected to be "HOT." I'd be pissed if it was served at a temperature that when thrown on a person didn't burn them (200 vs 185 doesn't really matter - both are going to hurt if you dump them on yourself). Any normal adult should be able to avoid hurting themselves with a drink.

I hate to see a kid get hurt, but unless the waitress dumped the coffee on the kid, I'm pretty sure that this one is mostly (read: all) the parents fault. I really don't understand how, when being served by a waitress, you are not looking at what she's doing when at your table (even if you don't have a flipping kid there). It's not like a <2 year old kid is something that you just toss at the end of the table and ignore.

 

[Brainonska511]

The point I was trying to make is, coffee when served is almost always "HOT" and expected to be "HOT." I'd be pissed if it was served at a temperature that when thrown on a person didn't burn them (200 vs 185 doesn't really matter - both are going to hurt if you dump them on yourself). Any normal adult should be able to avoid hurting themselves with a drink.

Yes, there is an important difference between serving coffee between 150 and 160F versus 180-200F. If you spill it on yourself, both will hurt, but the one 180F + can cause 3rd degree burns in seconds (ie: if you spill it onto a fabric that is adjacent to your skin and not easily removed).

 

[Smoblikat]

So the parents neglected to watch the child that they willingly brought into the restaurant, the child then hurts itself while under the supervision of the parents, and it is somehow the restaurants fault?

 

[mvbighead]

It's far too easy to speculate on the details here, but to me it comes down to time. How long was the cup sitting there before the toddler got to it? If it was more the 2-3 seconds, the parents are surely at fault. If it was a wham bam situation and the kid grabbed it as soon as it was set down, I'd fault the wait staff.

I don't think anything to the tune of $500k is appropriate myself, but I've been in many a restaurant with my toddler and it's unbelievable how stupid some of the staff can be. Someone mentioned fajitas already, but I was in a very similar boat and had to pull a dish out of my kid's reach quickly because it was set within his reach. Another situation was staff setting fried mini-corn dogs that just got out of the fryer in front of my kid. Yes, that dish was for him but for fuck's sake... it just came out of the fryer!

In each of my examples, I reacted quickly to get the hot items away, but some wait staff just have no concept of toddlers just reaching and grabbing things on a whim. I'd personally prefer if all wait staff simply said, "This item is hot, where would you like me to set it?" I've heard similar for dishes that were set out for adults, so when it comes to kids, it's pretty simple and far more required.

$500k is excessive, but I don't care to speculate if the parents didn't have time to react. I've been at many a busy table before and sometimes it's a matter of figuring out where everything fits. But you don't hand a kid something dangerous (sharp/hot/whatever) or set it within their reach, you're just asking for too much trouble. Common sense... some people just don't have it.