Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons sued for serving 'superheated' tea in 'defective' cup

Canada's popular coffee chain Tim Hortons is being sued for serving a customer “superheated” tea in a defective cup. A woman from Ontario and her family are suing the coffee chain for C$500,000 ($366,000) after the tea left her with “horrific” burns on her body. The incident happened last year when 73-year-old Jackie Lansing got burnt when the cup collapsed.

According to her statement of claim, Jackie had ordered a black tea while at a drive-through in southern Ontario. She was in the passenger seat of a vehicle when she picked up the cup. She says the cup “immediately collapsed in on itself”, leaving her burnt.

“As a result, approximately 14 ounces of scalding hot liquid spilled on Ms Lansing’s stomach and legs,” her claim reads. “The tea provided was a hazard rather than a beverage.”

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Jackie's lawyer Gavin Tighe claims that the company was careless when it came to the temperature of the tea and the structure of the cup.

“What began as a routine occurrence, buying a cup of tea, in the blink of an eye turned into a life-changing injury that required multiple hospital visits and has left both physical and emotional scars,” Gavin told Guardian.

Jackie's statement of claim further says that Lansing had to take morphine to treat the pain and the wounds took over three weeks to close. She is now “permanently and seriously injured … and disfigured”.

Lansing further alleges that she now suffers from hypersensitive skin which needs constant treatment. She has also experienced weight gain and is now “frequently afraid … gloomy, depressed and tearful”.

Her daughter is also seeking damages under the province’s Family Law Act, alleging that the injury has left her mother unable to fully care for her disabled child.

Meanwhile, TDL Group Corp, the licensing company of Tim Hortons, and Greenwood Enterprises Inc, the operator of the franchise, have denied all allegations of negligence. They are seeking a dismissal of Lansing's claim saying that she “assumed risk” when ordering a hot beverage. “She was the author of her own misfortune”, the groups say. Their statement of defence further says that Lansing was distracted by her phone at the time of the incident.

The matter brings back memories of a 1994 case when 79-year-old Stella Liebeck sued McDonald’s for life-threatening third-degree burns after she spilled hot coffee in her lap. She was awarded $2.7 million by a jury in punitive damages. Even though she won, her case still invited mockery from several quarters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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