Parents sue Disney, say son suffered 'severe burns' from nacho cheese

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...t-child-burned-cheese20110210,0,2488936.story

San Diego parents who say their young son suffered "severe burns" at the hands of scalding hot nacho cheese served to them during a family vacation have filed suit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, records show.

In their suit, filed in California district court on Wednesday, parents Michael and Maria Harris said they were eating dinner at Disney World while on vacation in March when the cheese was spilled on their son's face.

"The cheese was scalding hot and resulted in severe burns" to the child, 4-year-old Isaiah Harris, the suit says. The suit alleges that Disney served the cheese "negligently and carelessly" and made "no effort" to regulate its temperature.

The suit says the child suffered "permanent scarring, pain and suffering" as a result of the burns, and his parents suffered "emotional distress" from witnessing his agony.

In their suit, the Harris family asks for the medical and legal costs incurred as well as punitive damages and "further relief as this Court deems just and proper."

Asked for comment, a Disney spokeswoman issued the following statement: "It's unfortunate when any child gets injured. We just received notice of the lawsuit and we are currently reviewing it."

Jeff Weiner can be reached at 407-420-5171, jeweiner@orlandosentinel.com or @OSNightCops on Twitter.

 

[nytimez]

It sounds like a silly lawsuit because of the phrase "nacho cheese."

But if Disney is serving this stuff at tempratures hot enough to leave permanent scars, then I think they are negligent. Especially if it was servied in one of those flimsy cardboard containers used in CS, where the stuff can actually dribble down the side and burn you just from carrying it to your table.

That said, I don't think anyone should get rich off this -- but the company should make things right by this family and make sure that the cheese is hot, not scalding.

 

[Figment632]

Well I was thinking about suing because WDW is boring me with the lack of new Etickets!

 

[JoShan1719]

I'm goint to sue because the sun is too hot in Orlando. Disney should really do more to dim the sun while people are in the parks.

 

[Disco]

It sounds like a silly lawsuit because of the phrase "nacho cheese."

But if Disney is serving this stuff at tempratures hot enough to leave permanent scars, then I think they are negligent. Especially if it was servied in one of those flimsy cardboard containers used in CS, where the stuff can actually dribble down the side and burn you just from carrying it to your table.

That said, I don't think anyone should get rich off this -- but the company should make things right by this family and make sure that the cheese is hot, not scalding.

LOL,
Well with the infamous McD's coffee lawsuits there were other major factors than just the temperature of the product in question that affected the outcome of the case.
One was that the temperature of the product was compromising the integrity of the container. Another was that McD's was handing the product to people in an environment where there was a large percentage of certainty that it would be spilled.
So at DW, if the Nacho Cheese was hot enough to melt through the bottom of the container and the counter servers were handing them to people riding on unicycles, the prosecutor would have a pretty open and closed case.
Basing the suit solely on my child tripped and fell face first into his nachos, especially if they were warned that they were hot, is going to be a little more difficult.

 

[ChloroFiend]

We frequently dine at Cosmic Ray's and Pecos Bill's, both of which have nacho cheese on the toppings bar. They may be the only places....at least that I can think of.

That cheese can indeed be quite hot when it gets pumped. Sometimes (not always), its not possible to hold the paper cup full of cheese without burning your hand.

My recollection is that the dispenser pump is labelled 'Caution - Hot'. Sure, that doesn't excuse excessive serving temperatures, but it is labelled as being potentially hazardous. Fact is, many foods are meant to be served hot. Soup often comes out too hot to eat, so that it can be eaten warm at the table.

The article says that the cheese was spilled on the child's face. I wonder how that happened. Did another guest drop a container on him? Was it something the kid did to himself?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

At the Boardwalk Inn/Villas they have a location called Boardwalk To Go that sells various foods and one of the items is Nachos with Cheese sauce. However they always put the Cheese sauce on top of the Nachos and not in a seperate container.

 

[umichigan10]

I don't understand why we live in such a "sue happy" society. The whole part of the cheese burning the kid is somewhat understandable, but this "emotional distress" suffered by the parents? Give me a break. I think anyone who lives in typical everyday America deals with emotional distress everyday, but we don't sue over every little thing do we?

 

[nytimez]

I don't understand why we live in such a "sue happy" society. The whole part of the cheese burning the kid is somewhat understandable, but this "emotional distress" suffered by the parents? Give me a break. I think anyone who lives in typical everyday America deals with emotional distress everyday, but we don't sue over every little thing do we?

I agree with that. But I do think Disney could be liable for the actual injuries and damage.

I also tend to think when someone is injured as an act of corporate neglect -- and I won't say that's what happened here since I don't know all the facts -- then the victim is entitled to some compensation beyond the pure cost of medical bills to account for lost time, ruined vacations, permanent damage/injuries/scars etc. I find "emotional distress" is often just legal code for all those things.

 

[Oglet]

Give them $100 million for it.

Why not? they obviously need the money else they wouldn't have been eating that crappy quick service food...

Makes me wonder if they were on free dining

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Well I was thinking about suing because WDW is boring me with the lack of new Etickets!

My thoughts exactly

 

[Luv2Roam]

It will be interesting to hear:
1) how the cheese sauce was spilled onto the son's face
2) did they report anything at the time, and was it recorded, if the did
3) who was handling the cheese sauce at the time it was spilled
4) did the parents seek immediate medical attention, and what was done

I can't imagine a kid being in a stroller and a parent giving the kid an open container of what had to been obviously extremely hot cheese sauce. If the parents had it in their hands and handed it off, they had to know it was very hot. I can't imagine a server giving a small child a container of anything hot.
Was he trying to play or drink it, burnt his tongue and knocked it onto his face?
Wondering if the parents were letting the 4 year old dispense cheese sauce by himself at a condiment counter.
Was the kid holding his face under the cheese dispenser? But even with that, someone taller would have to be pumping the sauce out. I would not think a 4 year old is tall or strong enough to do that.
I could see new rules in place where no child can be unattended. But betting the parents were right there, if this was the case.

Certainly feel for the kids and the parents. But I would have to hear some swaying information to think Disney is at fault for having hot cheese.

 

[Reddy]

there was a picture of the kid - it looks like he drank it
not spill
but why wasn't his hands burn??
how did a 4 year old pump the cheese??
I think it is the parents fault for not watching their child

 

[Luv2Roam]

Here is a little more info:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20031531-504083.html

 

[umichigan10]

After seeing the CBS report on the incident, I can see it going either way. On one hand, the kid got some nasty ugly burns from the cheese. It also says that the cheese would have had to have been 160 degrees to burn him like that. Obviously, unless the kid and his parents cut through a burning building on their way to the hospital I can't see how else his face could have gotten like that. On the other hand, his parents were obviously sitting right there while he was eating or drinking or whatever the sauce. The bottom line, I think the case is still a toss up and I still think the whole lawsuit is ridiculous.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Wow, those are some burns on the child's lips.
I can imagine it was very painful for him, and very scary for his parents.

But where do these lawsuits end? Isn't there an assumption that cooked food will be hot when it is served? If it's not kept hot enough in the kitchen, bacteria will grow... then we'll see lawsuits about how someone got Salmonella, E Coli, etc, because Disney does not heat the food properly.

Responsible parenting is to check the temperature of the food before you serve it to your 4 year old. You might blow on your own soup (or in this case cheese) before putting it into your mouth- especially when there is steam coming off it, but a 4 year old cannot reasonably be expected to have that same thought process. Do I think Disney should pay for medical expenses? Yes, Should this family hit the lawsuit lottery? No! C'mon mom and dad, be a responsible parent when feeding your child, and take responsibility for your own failure at paying attention- don't try to make someone else pay when you were clearly neglectful of your 4 year old.

 

[Reddy]

I was reading another site that says the parents claim that the high chair was wobbly & the child grabbed the tray that the nachos were on & the tray flipped & spilled on him

if that is true why is it only on the lip that is burn & not the whole face

why isn't it heal by now

 

[eliza61]

11 months? why did it take them 11 months to sue? I'm thinking there is more to this story/

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

I don't see how a district court in California is the proper venue for such a lawsuit. The incident happened in Florida, the original ER visit was in Florida, any witnesses are in Florida. Florida laws should apply to this case and we don't recognize parental physic trauma (parents witnessing injuries) in Florida, except perhaps in witnessing a child's death. I hope Disney lawyers try to get this dismissed or moved to Florida.

BobK/Orlando

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This might sound crazy to say or even think but am I the only one who hopes that because of this story WDW won't take away the Cheese sauce from Cosmic Ray's. Part of me thinks because of these people someone might suggest to WDW that it gets taken away and I admit I love to dip my French Fries in there, so why should others who also like it not be allowed to have it anymore.