N.J. Woman Spills Hot Coffee On Herself, Gets $522,000 In Lawsuit

A New Jersey woman reportedly won a $522,000 settlement in her case against a Dunkin Donuts after tripping in the parking lot, and then spilling hot coffee on herself.

Besides burning herself with coffee, she also got back and shoulder injuries that required surgery, her attorney, Ed Rebenack, told the network.

Rebenack said Marsala settled the suit for $522,000 before the case was scheduled to go to trial later in September, according to NBC New York.

The lawsuit, filed in Middlesex County Superior Court, claimed the North Plainfield resident fell while walking back to her car parked outside the shop on Raritan Avenue in Highland Park around 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2012, according to the report.

“Basic standards for parking lot maintenance are for the protection and safety of the general public,” Rebenack told CNBC. “Allowing a metal spike to protrude out of the asphalt clearly violates these standards...”

This is not the first lawsuit involving spilled hot coffee. The cases first made big news back in 1992, when a cup of McDonald’s hot coffee spilled on 79-year-old Stella Liebeck in New Mexico. Liebeck, who suffered third-degree burns and was hospitalized, sued McDonald’s and a jury awarded her $2.9 million.

The T.V. show ”Seinfeld” also did a parody on the case in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoINTDFosCY