Man Sues US Airline After Crew Spills Hot Coffee On Him, Damages His Tattoo

A man from the United States has sued American Airlines after a flight attendant spilled hot coffee on him which left him "scalded". The incident took place on October 9 on a flight from Vietnam to New York, which left George Latorre with "severe and permanent injuries" that caused damage to his tattoo, as per a report in the New York Post. 

He filed a suit against the airline and said that a crew member spilled hot coffee on his left arm which caused "second degree (burns) to his upper left arm; blistering; peeling, bleeding; possible permanent cosmetic deformity and scarring." The man was sitting in seat 33J next to his son when the incident took place. When the flight attendant served him coffee, it spilled on him. According to the lawsuit, the staff member was allegedly "careless, reckless, and negligent in serving scalding coffee to the plaintiff in an unsafe manner." He said that the injuries have resulted in "extreme pain and suffering" and "emotional harm, mental anguish and distress." 

According to the lawsuit, he has also suffered from "loss of sleep" as a result of the discomfort, which will require more medical care. The lawsuit states that the airline is at fault for allegedly "failing to hire and retain competent personnel and employees."

After being "burned" by the coffee, Mr Latorre attempted to purchase a business class seat from the airline, but the lawsuit claimed that he was turned down. He then sought medical assistance for his injuries after landing. A medical professional then informed him that the damage was "serious enough" to need a surgeon's consultation.

An American Airlines representative spoke to the outlet and said that the company "does not comment on pending litigation".

In July this year, in a similar case, a Florida family was awarded $800,000, following a civil lawsuit against McDonald's and a franchisee. The South Florida jury delivered the verdict after a 4-year-old girl named Olivia Caraballo, suffered second-degree burns from a McDonald's chicken nugget four years ago, as per a report in CBS News.

Lawyers for the family were seeking $15 million in damages. However, jurors reached their verdict after deliberating for less than two hours. After hearing the closing arguments, a jury decided to award an $800,000 amount for the child's pain and suffering. According to NBC Miami, Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez, the parents of Olivia Caraballo, claimed the girl suffered second-degree burns from the "unreasonably and dangerously" hot nuggets in her "Happy Meal." The suit said that one nugget got stuck in her car seat and burned the child's leg.