Personal Injury Attorney Wins $3M Settlement for Family of a N.J. Child Who was Burned by Hot Water from Overturned Takeout Cup at a Convenience Store
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on April 24th, 2020
The family of a 3-year-old New Jersey child who was severely burned in 2018 when a cup of hot water was knocked over by a convenience store clerk as her mother was paying for her purchases has reached a $3 million settlement with the Wawa store chain.
The child and her mother were in a Wawa store in Neptune, N.J., on April 25, 2018, when the clerk accidentally knocked over one of two cups of hot water, which dislodged the cup’s lid and spilled its hot contents onto the little girl, according to an April 20 story in the New Jersey Law Journal.
Hot water from the overturned cup splashed all over the child’s upper body, arms and torso, causing second- and third-degree burns over 15% of her body, the story reported.
In a lawsuit filed against Wawa, the girl’s mother, Roya Konzman, alleged that the hot water was dispensed from a hot tea machine in the store at a temperature hotter than necessary, which contributed to her daughter’s injuries, according to the story. Konzman also sought compensation for emotional distress due to witnessing her daughter’s injuries to her daughter and for the pain and suffering they caused.
“The suit claimed the hot water, which came from a Cecilware water dispensing machine, was dispensed at a dangerous temperature that would immediately cause burns if spilled on flesh,” the story reported. “The suit claimed Wawa knew of the hazard and acted with disregard for the safety of its customers.”
The settlement was approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni on March 30, including $2,550,000 to the child, which is to be split between a support trust and a structured settlement annuity, and another $450,000 to her mother, the story reported.
Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.
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