Woman permanently scarred from ‘boiling’ hot coffee served on Delta flight, suit says
.jpg "A woman is suing Delta Air Lines, saying she was badly burned from hot coffee served by a flight attendant.")
A Washington woman is permanently scarred after flying with Delta Air Lines, according to a new federal lawsuit that says a flight attendant served her dangerously hot coffee that spilled onto her, leaving her with first- and second-degree burns.
During the Delta flight from Paris to Seattle on Dec. 15, 2023, Cheryl Myers was watching a movie when a flight attendant put a cup of coffee on a slanted tray table, and the cup spilled, a complaint filed Sept. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington says.
The “boiling” hot liquid landed on her left hip, side and stomach, causing Myers extreme pain and injuries, according to the complaint, which shows a photo of severe, blistered burns.
When Myers notified flight attendants, they were “dismissive and displayed a lack of concern for (her), telling her to ‘just go change’ and handing her a bag of ice,” the lawsuit says.
Myers repeatedly pleaded with the flight crew for medical help, according to the complaint, and showed a flight attendant her burns inside a bathroom.
Afterward, she received a pain reliever and a bandage, “which became embedded in her wounds,” the lawsuit says.
Myers’ pain worsened and she asked flight attendants to see if they could find someone who was a medical professional, according to the complaint.
Delta’s flight crew is accused of not properly providing her medical care, or trying to find medical help for her.
Myers, of Chehalis, is a flight attendant with another airline, according to her attorney Mark Lindquist, of Mark Lindquist Law in Tacoma.
She is suing Delta Air Lines, accusing the company of negligence.
“Common sense tells you an airplane is the wrong place to serve burning hot coffee. Spills happen on planes,” Lindquist said in a news release. “Additionally, if you are going to serve burning hot coffee on a plane, you should be prepared to deal with the medical consequences.”
Delta spokesperson Morgan C. Durrant told McClatchy News on Sept. 19 that the airline “will decline to comment on this pending litigation.”
According to the lawsuit, Delta’s flight crew, including the captain, didn’t seek advice from a remote medical provider on how to treat Myers’ injuries.
“Instead, Delta’s captain arranged for paramedics to meet the aircraft after it landed in Seattle, hours later,” the complaint says.
Myers spent those hours without medical care, according to the complaint.
After the flight landed, paramedics at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport said Myers’ burns “were the worst they had ever seen from coffee,” and one told her she needed to go to a hospital, the complaint says.
When Myers was taken to a hospital, an ER doctor who examined her found that her burns were blistering, according to the complaint.
The pain from the hot coffee spill prevented Myers from showering or wearing her typical clothes for months, the complaint says.
Her injuries also affected her ability to drive, sit and sleep, according to the complaint.
She was prescribed opiates for her pain and the medication made her “groggy and unable to function normally,” the complaint says.
With her lawsuit, Myers is seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory damages for her physical and emotional injuries.
Delta served “excessively hot coffee at a temperature above industry standards,” the complaint says.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Woman permanently scarred from ‘boiling’ hot coffee served on Delta flight, suit says."
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