010434 Woman Settles "Hot Pickle" McDonald's LawsuitApril 11, 2001Knoxville, TN - A woman who claimed she was permanently scarred by a hot McDonald's hamburger pickle has settled her lawsuit against the restaurant chain. MAR Inc., which does business as McDonald's in Knoxville, admitted no wrongdoing in the agreement signed by a judge. Other details of the settlement are to remain confidential. “McDonald's did not make any monetary payment whatsoever to the plaintiff in this case. We continue to view this as an allegation without merit,” said Lisa Howard, a spokeswoman for the fast-food corporation Veronica M. Martin claimed she suffered a second-degree burn on her chin after an extremely hot pickle fell from one of the small burgers she and her husband bought in October 1999. Martin could not be located for comment. Her attorney, Amelia Crotwell, did not return a call to her office. The suit contended the pickle was defective and unreasonably dangerous to the customer, breaching an implied warranty for safety. Martin sought $110,000 while her husband, Darrin, sought $15,000 for losing the services and consortium of his wife. In 1994, a New Mexico woman was awarded $2.7 million after suing McDonald's for burns she suffered when coffee she bought at a drive-through window spilled in her lap. A judge later reduced the award to just under $500,000.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
