Family sues Disney over hot nacho cheese

[peaches magee]

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A California family is suing Disney for burns they say their son suffered from nacho cheese.

Michael and Maria Harris of San Diego sued Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in a California court, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

They say they were eating dinner at Disney World in Florida last March when the cheese was spilled on their 4-year-old son Isaiah's face.

"The cheese was scalding hot and resulted in severe burns" and caused the boy "permanent scarring, pain and suffering," the suit filed this week charges.

The Harrises accuse Disney of serving the cheese "negligently and carelessly" with "no effort" to control the temperature.

A Disney spokeswoman commented, "It's unfortunate when any child gets injured. We just received notice of the lawsuit and we are currently reviewing it."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/02/11/Disney-sued-for-childs-nacho-cheese-burns/UPI-20081297439583/


I have used the cheese sauce at Cosmic Rays before, it is at the self-serve condiment station. So I am not sure if the parent accidentally got some on the child, or he was eating it and it was hot. Also I always see a bunch of CMs around there making sure everything there is attended to.
Lawsuit City lately, man.

[Scarletwebslingr]

Bogus. A 4 year old shouldn't be handed a cup of hot cheese anyhow.

[peaches magee]

Amen. I mean if that's the case, those parents are in the wrong. I am pretty sure that cheese spout has a HOT warning in red in plain sight.

[Scarletwebslingr]

Amen. I mean if that's the case, those parents are in the wrong. I am pretty sure that cheese spout has a HOT warning in red in plain sight.

Well melted/hot cheese goes without saying. Child neglect seems to be more the problem.

[peaches magee]

Exactly... how did it "spill into his face"? Seems very suspicious indeed.

[stitch1085]

I had to click this post when I saw it to see if it was true. First off in this bad economy people are suing for just about anything. Secondly these parents should be the runs put to trial for bad parenting. I mean honestly we need licenses to drive, have guns, our pets even require to be registered and or licensed...I think its due time people are required to get a license for having kids! Ridiculous!

[Scarletwebslingr]

Exactly... how did it "spill into his face"? Seems very suspicious indeed.

And melted cheese isn't runny. If the cup tips, it doesn't just spill out like softer liquids. That family is retarded with a little retard child and are trying to get money via lawsuits because their retard brains don't have the skill set to aquire it otherwise.

[JL4]

well dont forget in a few months the kid will not remember that anything happened at all. and there is no such thing as permanent scarring from Nacho cheese. A gash or gouge scarring might stay. I truly doubt that the nacho cheese acted like a sulfuric acid and ate the kids face. I am a father of 5. I have not seen any nacho cheese damage lingering around my children.

sad this is happening.
and I am sorry they are from California, the sue happy state.

[Demeter]

Get a life people! That just makes me roll my eyes and ask "Don't these people have anything better to do?"

[Return_of_Phos]

Well on the plus side the kid has a new nickname "cheese" :lol:

Hey its Cheeeeeese :look: Old School anyone :shrug:

[JL4]

Well on the plus sidethe kid has a new nickname "cheese" :lol:

Hey its Cheeeeeese :look: Old School anyone :shrug:


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[Ticklyvinylmonkee]

So if the cheese had been cold, would they have sued for frost bite on the kids face?? :lol:

[westcoastcorry]

How can you guys expect the parents to be responsible for the food they serve their children. It should be Disney's job... After all, they are on Disney's property!!!!

I am kidding. The only thing they should get is a letter from the judge saying they are bad parents.

[archie]

and they wonder why the prices to the park keep going up!

[Anders Limpar]

To me, this seems very similar to the woman who spilled coffee on herself and then sued McDonald's.

[TheOneTheyDontSpeakOf]

Well on the plus side the kid has a new nickname "cheese" :lol:

Hey its Cheeeeeese :look: Old School anyone :shrug:

Emphasis on "old" :rofl:

I think it's ridiculous. Shouldn't the ones who spilled the hot cheese over the child be responsible?? :look:

[photographymom517]

To me, this seems vary similar to the woman who spilled coffee on herself and then sued McDonald's.

I know, its so sad. I think about that lawsuit everytime I'm at McDonald's & just think of how incredibly stupid that lady was...I mean, HELLO COFFEE IS HOT!!! A normal person would think it was normal for coffee to be hot...what did she think it was going to be??? I'm sure if the same lady would've been given cold coffee, she would've complained about that too...or tried to sue.

People like this are just sad, sad people & really ruin alot of things in the world for the rest of us!

I cannot believe this family is suing Disney over hot nacho cheese. It makes no sense first of all. As other posters have said, nacho cheese doesn't spill like a hot beverage would & even if it did, how did it get all over the child's face? I have a toddler & babysit my nephews all the time...let me tell you, they are messy kids & none of them have ever been near a hot beverage, food item, or oven in my care.

These people are horrible parents...bottom line!

[vinylcreation]

<Sigh> I think that it's so, so sad that people are doing the weirdest things possible to get money. Seriously: Nacho cheese? And what was the kid doing with it? Chewing on the cup? It's the parents fault that they let the little guy play with hot stuff. I bet that if this 4 year old was, say, 16, the parents would be the one getting sued.

My message to the people: DON'T SUE FOR STUPID THINGS LIKE NACHO CHEESE!!!!!

[mickeyfan1999]

Very bogus!!!

[1rocky]

Letting a four year old have the hot cheese in the first place is wrong.
parents need to be held responsible for the actions of their children .
One question s it very easy to sue in america .

[SorcererDonald16]

Something really stinks about this to me, and I'm not talking the cheese either. :look:

The most detailed article I've read was from USA Today: Parents sue over son's hot nacho cheese injury at Disney World (http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/02/family-sues-over-sons-hot-nacho-cheese-injury-at-disney-world/142725/1) . There's a pic of the little boy, and obviously at some point he had some kind of blister/burn on and above his lip. So I feel badly for him, regardless of how he got it. But note what the article says:
"According to the family's San Diego-based attorney, Sean Cahill, Isaiah Harris was injured at Cosmic Ray's Starlite Cafe when a paper cup of scalding nacho cheese splashed on his face after he'd grabbed a food tray to keep from falling out of an unsteady chair."

This sets off the Bull Meter for me, big time. There's the obvious point many of y'all already made, that the parents should have been watching the child. There's also the "Caution: HOT" warnings all over these dispensers. But what makes me the most suspicious is the timing. If they got it from the condiments bar and got back to their seat, and got him in a high chair (that's what it was called in other reports), how did it not cool off at least a little by then? I have never once seen that kind of cheese "splash", and I've eaten plenty of nachos with initially boiling hot sauce in my time at ballparks.

I am not a chef or a food specialist ala Alton Brown (bartyboy, we could use your help with this! :rofl: ), but I have also cooked my fair share of this stuff to know that you can make it incredibly hot, and within a minute it's cooled significantly and formed a congealed layer of cheese on top. Thus making it nearly impossible to splash. Second, even if it did splash, how the heck would it just land in that one concentrated area?

This ticked me off so much, I went digging through my pictures from last May until I found one of the infamous cheese cups from Casey's. At Casey's, the fixings bar is right there by the tiny seating area. My dad got the cheese last, which he said was hot when he got it, but by the time he got over to where we were sitting, voila:

http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp320/Brvs29fan/1618-1.jpg

Congealed cheese layer on top. Thus making it impossible to "splash" anywhere.

Maybe the parents will surprise me with better evidence if this goes forward, but so far this sounds like a pure money grab to me.

[roto888]

Well on the plus side the kid has a new nickname "cheese" :lol:

Hey its Cheeeeeese :look: Old School anyone :shrug:

Hey Phos, I am going to sue you because my sides are hurting from laughing so hard !! ROFL....

---------- Post added at 12:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 AM ----------

This whole lawsuit is beyond ridiculous and frivolous. The parents acted irresponsibly and now want Disney to pay for their idiocy. I hope that Disney's attorneys push back rather than just pay out to sweep this under the rug. It's pathetic that our legal system even allows this. Waste of taxpayer money. Waste of taxpayer time. And these parents, apparently a waste of space!

Much like the parents we saw today at DLR put their stroller with their baby in it ! Good thing my wife saw the baby's blanket dragging on the ground as it would have caught on the escalator for sure. Had that happened, we have no doubts whatsoever, those people would sue Disney for their stupidity! Complete stupidity!

[disneyobsessed808]

So I was going to bite my tongue on this topic; however, I do have to say that food/drinks should never be served so hot that they burn you and leave scars. You aren't just paying for food, but food you can eat safely. Now I don't know if the burn is for real or what the kid was doing to get it on his face

But, before people jump on the McDonald's coffee case there really is more to it, than just "Coffee is supposed to be hot." Consider some highlights of the actual case.
- While most fast food places hold the temperature at 140 (a safe temperature), McDonald's held it at 180-190, 40 to 50 degrees higher than what is safely consumable
- McDonald's knew that a burn hazard is created when food is held above 140, but still had no intention of lowering the temperature of the coffee.
- At that temperature, third degree burns can occur in two - seven seconds.
- With even over 700 complaints of burns, they still never lowered their temperature
- Most people do not know that something held at 180 will actually cause third degree burns (Did you know the temperature that is safe off the top of your head?)
- The judge considered McDonald's actions as reckless, callous, and willful

(I know I'm in the minority. Please don't hate me :dash: :rofl:)

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm


During discovery, McDonalds produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992. Some claims involved third-degree burns substantially similar to Liebecks. This history documented McDonalds' knowledge about the extent and nature of this hazard.

McDonalds also said during discovery that, based on a consultants advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit to maintain optimum taste. He admitted that he had not evaluated the safety ramifications at this temperature. Other establishments sell coffee at substantially lower temperatures, and coffee served at home is generally 135 to 140 degrees.

Further, McDonalds' quality assurance manager testified that the company actively enforces a requirement that coffee be held in the pot at 185 degrees, plus or minus five degrees. He also testified that a burn hazard exists with any food substance served at 140 degrees or above, and that McDonalds coffee, at the temperature at which it was poured into styrofoam cups, was not fit for consumption because it would burn the mouth and throat. The quality assurance manager admitted that burns would occur, but testified that McDonalds had no intention of reducing the "holding temperature" of its coffee.

Plaintiffs' expert, a scholar in thermodynamics applied to human skin burns, testified that liquids, at 180 degrees, will cause a full thickness burn to human skin in two to seven seconds. Other testimony showed that as the temperature decreases toward 155 degrees, the extent of the burn relative to that temperature decreases exponentially. Thus, if Liebeck's spill had involved coffee at 155 degrees, the liquid would have cooled and given her time to avoid a serious burn.

McDonalds asserted that customers buy coffee on their way to work or home, intending to consume it there. However, the companys own research showed that customers intend to consume the coffee immediately while driving.

McDonalds also argued that consumers know coffee is hot and that its customers want it that way. The company admitted its customers were unaware that they could suffer thirddegree burns from the coffee and that a statement on the side of the cup was not a "warning" but a "reminder" since the location of the writing would not warn customers of the hazard.

The trial court subsequently reduced the punitive award to $480,000 -- or three times compensatory damages -- even though the judge called McDonalds' conduct reckless, callous and willful

[Sokka]

So I was going to bite my tongue on this topic; however, I do have to say that food/drinks should never be served so hot that they burn you and leave scars. You aren't just paying for food, but food you can eat safely. Now I don't know if the burn is for real or what the kid was doing to get it on his face

But, before people jump on the McDonald's coffee case there really is more to it, than just "Coffee is supposed to be hot." Consider some highlights of the actual case.
- While most fast food places hold the temperature at 140 (a safe temperature), McDonald's held it at 180-190, 40 to 50 degrees higher than what is safely consumable
- McDonald's knew that a burn hazard is created when food is held above 140, but still had no intention of lowering the temperature of the coffee.
- At that temperature, third degree burns can occur in two - seven seconds.
- With even over 700 complaints of burns, they still never lowered their temperature
- Most people do not know that something held at 180 will actually cause third degree burns (Did you know the temperature that is safe off the top of your head?)

(I know I'm in the minority. Please don't hate me :dash: :rofl:)

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
I'm glad you posted that so I can join your side. I don't like how people are making this laughable and saying it's only for money.

SURE, it's Disney, but is Disney THAT precious to you that if the child REALLY DID get burned from the Nacho cheese, you're going to stick up for them?

This is the picture of the kid they had on USA Today
http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/dispatches/2011/01/30/nachox-large.jpg

If that's really from cheese, that's a BRUTAL burn and yes, that could definitely cause permanent scaring.

You could have had that cheese 100 times before, but that doesn't mean this one time this kid had it, it wasnt scalding hot. You just don't know! Don't knock the case until you've actually seen the evidence. They might have 50 people in the restaurant that saw it happen, saw them wipe the cheese, and saw a bleeding swollen lip where the cheese had been.

And lets face it, if it was your child, you wouldn't want people saying you're a bad parent.

There's nothing wrong with having warm cheese around children. They eat soup, they drink warm milk, they can eat hot cheese as long as it's not scalding (no one can eat it if it is!).

Also, nothing ever said HE was eating the nachos and the cheese. It said he was falling out of a chair, grabbed at the table (whcih anyone would do to keep their balance!) and grabbed the tray, the tray then flipped up and the cheese flew into his face.

I don't care how thick cheese is, if someone threw it at you, or it was catapulted by a tray, it would splash on you.

It's not like he ate the cheese and it burned his mouth and tongue, then you could say he shoulda waited for it to cool...this was completely on accident as it is reported, therefore cheese shouldn't be served so hot that you can have second degree burns.

[disneylover1955]

I think these people and the quadriplegic suing Disneyland for being stuck on Small World should get together and create one mega ridiculously stupid lawsuit! Geeezeee people grow up! :rofl:

[1rocky]

I see the pic but still i think there is something very fishy about the whole thing. IT is a shame that people will sue just because they can, and really when i had food at the restaurant near soaring at the California adventure DL it was cold.
If the parents knew it was hot keep away from the child . check the seat you put your child in and if wobbly and you are unsure change the seats.
Also looks as though he has hurt himself before. the burn is painful do doubt but it does not look like a splash well that is what i think i am no doctor or lawyer. and it will be up to each parties lawyers to sort it out.

[kb24]

^ that pic is horrible. i'm with majority to be frank, but quite honestly none of us know the facts. ^ about the fishy part, i tend to agree somewhat bc why would you sue now if it happened last march almost a yr ago?

i understand both sides, it shouldn't be that hot but was it rly that hot? lastly, it wasn't disney who put the cheese on the kid's face though, but i do see where the parents can get $. .

[nickalew]

Yes that burn is horrible, and Disney has some fault in it. It's unfortunate that it had to happen, but I agree something sounds fishy about the whole thing

[SorcererDonald16]

I'm glad you posted that so I can join your side. I don't like how people are making this laughable and saying it's only for money.

SURE, it's Disney, but is Disney THAT precious to you that if the child REALLY DID get burned from the Nacho cheese, you're going to stick up for them?

If that's really from cheese, that's a BRUTAL burn and yes, that could definitely cause permanent scaring.

You could have had that cheese 100 times before, but that doesn't mean this one time this kid had it, it wasnt scalding hot. You just don't know! Don't knock the case until you've actually seen the evidence. They might have 50 people in the restaurant that saw it happen, saw them wipe the cheese, and saw a bleeding swollen lip where the cheese had been.

And lets face it, if it was your child, you wouldn't want people saying you're a bad parent.


I snipped your reply for space reasons, but here are my main thoughts. Sure, if a tray came flying at your face, you'd probably get hit with the food on it. But in one concentrated area, just on and above the lip? No, I really don't believe that's possible. If it was truly hot enough to "splash", then it would have gone more places than that. The part of your post I bolded is my thought in a nutshell-- I am not convinced this was from the cheese, and if it was, I am not convinced it happened as they say. Either way, it's not his fault. He's a small child. The point I was mainly making isn't how thick the cheese is; it was that after a matter of maybe a minute, it cools enough to congeal. The top layer turns to basically sludge. Which, in turn, makes a pretty thick barrier for the still liquid part of the cheese, making it impossible to "splash." Their use of that term raises my eyebrows, right or wrong.

To me, the fact remains that the cheese at Cosmic Ray's is self-serve. So, if it was really that scalding hot, wouldn't the parent who got it from the fixings bar have noticed that? The cups are not thick; you feel the heat or lack thereof through them. So if it was truly that hot, they should have put the tray farther away from the child. If it was as hot as they claim, then yes, Disney is at fault, but the parents are too, IMO.

I can only speak for myself, but I am far from a Disney apologist. I love Disney, WDW, etc., but I have no problem calling them on things I feel they have messed up. As I said, if the family presents more evidence that makes sense, I would happily admit my opinions are wrong. But as it is, this reeks to me. The fact that the lawyer filed this in sue-happy CA doesn't ease my suspicions, either.

[smanrick51]

Wait, who doesn't let their kids play with hot nacho cheese? I thought kids love that stuff... :doh:

First of all, I think that Disney should make sure their cheese isn't too hot because of stupid people like this. More importantly, if a person is dumb enough not to make sure that something they give their child isn't going to injure them then they shouldn't have had kids! I'm just sayin... I'm tired of stupid people! :bonk:

[stitch1085]

Wait, who doesn't let their kids play with hot nacho cheese? I thought kids love that stuff... :doh:

First of all, I think that Disney should make sure their cheese isn't too hot because of stupid people like this. More importantly, if a person is dumb enough not to make sure that something they give their child isn't going to injure them then they shouldn't have had kids! I'm just sayin... I'm tired of stupid people! :bonk:

AMEN TO THAT!

---------- Post added at 11:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 AM ----------

From the above posted photo this kid looks like he's had quite a few battle scars in his lifetime and he's only FOUR! He has more scars on his face than my 12 year old cousin who plays football...I definitely smell BAD PARENTING and the odor is FOUL!

[DuckTales]

When we went to WDW last year, I got nacho cheese for my fries at Casey's Corner, and no doubt about it, that stuff can be HOT. I practically had to sprint back to the table before the little paper cups welded themselves to my fingertips. ;)

I hate to question someone else's pain, but how did he spill it all over his face?

[experiment626]

Really...?

Next time im at Disney, Im going to trip on the pavement and blame them for their poor maintenance. Then sue the crap out of them cause I have no morals and nothing else better to do!

Using child + stupid lawsuit = STUPID parents!

Also...

who lets a 4 year old eat nachos with melted cheese?!?!?!?