Maybe he should have ordered an iced coffee.
Cosimo Nistico, 74, of Toms River, NJ is taking Dunkin’ Donuts to court over a cup of hot coffee that he says spilled on his lap and gave him second-degree burns.
According to a report from The New York Post, Nistico said the lid on his black coffee popped off when a worker handed it to him in a drive-through window on April 27, causing the beverage to burn his inner left thigh.
“I was scared as hell,” said Nistico. “I went to wipe my leg and my skin was coming off. It almost burned by private parts. Not one person came out to help me. It was BS.”
Nistico was hospitalized where he was treated for “serious and severe injuries” that caused him “great pain and suffering,” according to the lawsuit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court on June 6.
Dunkin’ Donuts has been in hot water before for alleged coffee burns.
In 2014, New Jersey resident Jennifer Fragoso sued Dunkin’ Donuts for burns she said were caused by hot apple cider — and won $2.4 million. Fragoso, who suffered burns on her thighs, also claimed the lid of the cup was not properly secured.
This isn’t the first time a fast-food chain has been sued for hot coffee.
In 1994, 79-year old Stella Liebeck sparked a media frenzy when she sued McDonald’s over a coffee burn, netting her a big payday.
Though the case was cited at the time as an example of a frivolous lawsuit, Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body, including her inner thighs and genitals, according to the American Museum of Tort Law.
A jury awarded Liebeck, of New Mexico, $160,000 in compensatory damages and initially ordered McDonald’s to pay her $2.7 million in punitive damages. But the trial judge ultimately reduced that to $480,000.
McDonald’s had printed warnings on coffee cups, but her lawyer argued they should say how hot the beverages were — between 180 and 190 degrees.
Knowing a similar accident happened in the past, Nistico said Dunkin’ Donuts should print a larger warning on the cups, and fix their lids.
“They should have had a bigger warning label because it’s very hot,” he said. “Steam was coming out of my [car] seat. That’s how hot it was.”
“They should figure out why this lid is popping off,” he said. “I don’t want it to happen again to someone else.”
Nistico said his burn wound has since healed, but he was in pain for weeks.
“I was scared to open up the bandage — it was ugly,” he said. “Every night I had to sleep with a pillow between my legs.”
He declined to say how much in damages he’s seeking but said that, along with medical bills, “The mental part is [hard] enough.”