Interesting Fast Food Lawsuits, From Hot Coffee to Deadly Contamination

You might rethink your next trip to a fast food spot after reading this slideshow. The number of times big companies are in the wrong is wild! And yet, people love fast food.

Fast food is incredibly common. Not only are these quick casual restaurants lined up all over the streets in America, but they are also in our stomachs. According to research, two in three people consume fast food at least once a week. That same survey study found that 13% of people consume fast food once a day, if not more.

Would this information change their mind? What about yours? Click through the slideshow for interesting and wild fast food lawsuits to know. For this slideshow, 24/7 Tempo consulted law and government websites to learn more about each lawsuit.

Probably the most well-known fast food lawsuit has to be McDonald's lawsuit over hot coffee. On February 27, 1992, 79-year-old Stella May Liebeck ordered a hot coffee from a McDonald's drive-thru in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While preparing her coffee in her car, the coffee spilled on her pants, burning her skin. She went into shock shortly after and was taken to the hospital. McDonald's hot coffee left her with third-degree burns in her pelvic region, which she had to undergo skin grafts for.

Before she sued, Liebeck attempted to settle with McDonald's for $20,000 to help with hospital fees. They declined, so she took it to court. On August 18, 1994, McDonald's was found 80% liable, and Liebeck was awarded about $2.8 million.

It's easier to group this disastrous time than to talk about each lawsuit individually. During 1992 and 1993, an E. coli outbreak killed four children and infected 732 people, 178 of which were severe cases, in California, Idaho, Washington, and Nevada. The outbreak wasn't in a grocery store or a meat production spot; instead, it was 73 Jack in the Box restaurants.

Health inspectors and other experts found that the restaurants were swamped with orders after a big promotion and weren't cooking the patties all the way. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed against Jack in the Box, paying out over $50 million, including 9-year-old Brianne Kiner, who secured a $15.6 million settlement.

Not all lawsuits are filed by customers or the state. Sometimes, they are filed by employees who aren't respected. Five Guys was sued in 2018 for not providing state-mandated meal and rest breaks. The lawsuit involves about 2,206 employees in California. Five Guys has agreed to pay more than $1 million, although little information has come forward about the lawsuit.

CaliBurger's menu items and styles were a little too close to In-N-Out's look, resulting in In-N-Out suing CaliBurger in 2012. The burgers had the same name and a similar sauce. Since the initial suing, the two have settled with CaliBurger changing some of its designs and menu item names like "Animal Style" fries to "Wild Style" fries.

There is a reason restaurants and stores place caution wet floor signs when they mop. One fall can completely change your life, which is what happened to Richard Tulecki. He slipped in the bathroom on something wet and slippery, resulting in the need for lower back surgery. That surgery then led to a postoperative perforated colon. He sued the fast food company and was awarded $7.81 million in damages.

What would you do if you saw a finger in your chili while eating at Wendy's? Probably scream. Well, Anna Ayala found one in her food…or did she? Well, this isn't an actual lawsuit, just a very close one. In 2005, she claimed to have found a severed finger in her chili in San Jose, California. This gave Wendy terrible publicity, although they ultimately didn't find out who it belonged to. Well, turns out, it was all a lie, and the finger belonged to a friend of her husband. She was arrested and charged with presenting a false or fraudulent insurance claim, attempted grand theft of personal property over $400, and grand theft of personal property over $400.

You can't even begin to imagine the number of times Chipotle has found itself in food poisoning scandals. It's to the point where the company agreed to pay $25 million in federal fines for its role in major food-borne illness outbreaks. From 2015 to 2018, over 1,100 people got sick due to outbreaks like Salmonella and E. coli. In just one location in Powell, Ohio, about 200 customers and employees got sick in a two-day span. This was the 7th outbreak in a row.