Parents sue because of Hot nacho cheese

[Victor Kelly]

Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

12:05 a.m. EST, February 11, 2011
E-mail Print Text Size os-disney-lawsuit-child-burned-cheese20110210
San Diego parents who say their young son suffered "severe burns" at the hands of scalding hot nacho cheese served to them during a family vacation have filed suit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, records show.

In their suit, filed in California district court on Wednesday, parents Michael and Maria Harris said they were eating dinner at Disney World while on vacation in March when the cheese was spilled on their son's face.

"The cheese was scalding hot and resulted in severe burns" to the child, 4-year-old Isaiah Harris, the suit says. The suit alleges that Disney served the cheese "negligently and carelessly" and made "no effort" to regulate its temperature.

The suit says the child suffered "permanent scarring, pain and suffering" as a result of the burns, and his parents suffered "emotional distress" from witnessing his agony.

In their suit, the Harris family asks for the medical and legal costs incurred as well as punitive damages and "further relief as this Court deems just and proper."

Asked for comment, a Disney spokeswoman issued the following statement: "It's unfortunate when any child gets injured. We just received notice of the lawsuit and we are currently reviewing it."

Jeff Weiner can be reached at 407-420-5171, or @OSNightCops on Twitter.


Here we go again:ack:. The article says the nacho cheese was spilled on his face. Um, parents wake up and take responsibility for your own inactions. How often does one hear of nacho cheese being cold when served?

This is why the prices keep getting hiked all the time. What is next a lawsuit against Disney claiming injuries for blisters and sore feet?:ack:

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Wow...I agree people are sue happy...

I have a coworker who was staying at a DisneyWorld resort who was curling her hair with a curling iron when there was a power surge. The severe heat burned her hair and a huge chunck of it fell out, luckily she wasn't hurt. She didn't sue, but Disney reimbursed her for her trip, paid for her to come back on another free trip and paid for her to get hair extensions. So, they are pretty good of taking care of things when it is something legitimite.

[WDWfanatic742]

:shake:

The times we live in...

[BrerGnat]

Wow...

[Momto3littlemice]

Okay, if the Disney employee had done the spilling... perhaps I could see this. But, it sounds like it was the child/ill supervised that did the spilling. I can't even fathom how someone would sue that their nacho cheese was too hot. In fact I bet it has to be at a hot enough temperature to be food -safe. That is discouraging. :mickey:

[big blue and hairy]

The one part of this that I would like to see more about is the permanent scarring. Without proof, I don't believe it, but I will say nacho cheese shouldn't be that hot. Again, without proof, I don't believe them, and even with photographic evidence my first though would be, how long was that cheese on his face before you got it off, mom/dad??!

:sulley:

[BraddyB]

IF, the child was burned as badly as stated, I am sure Disney would have filed an accident report. I am also sure they would have photos of the incident. Sounds like someone is trying to use their stupidity to increase their wallet size.

No one would sue Disney because of blisters on their feet!!!

BUT I am thinking of a class action lawsuit against Disney for emotional distress after leaving the park. I suffer depression, fatigue, and either weight loss or gain. Anyone want in on my suit.

[VWL Mom]

According to another article, the boy spilled it on himself while eating at Cosmic Rays. The lawyer "thinks" the cheese was 160 degrees but isn't sure. The photo does show blistering above the boys mouth. The lawyer goes on to say, parents have the right at Disney to expect childrens' food to be served at a reasonable temp.

While I feel sorry for the boy IMHO there comes a point parents have to stop blaming their negligence on everyone else. I don't know about anyone else but when we ate away from home I always checked the temp of food before giving it to my kids.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

IF, the child was burned as badly as stated, I am sure Disney would have filed an accident report. I am also sure they would have photos of the incident. Sounds like someone is trying to use their stupidity to increase their wallet size.

No one would sue Disney because of blisters on their feet!!!

BUT I am thinking of a class action lawsuit against Disney for emotional distress after leaving the park. I suffer depression, fatigue, and either weight loss or gain. Anyone want in on my suit.

Count me in:D

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

[While I feel sorry for the boy IMHO there comes a point parents have to stop blaming their negligence on everyone else. I don't know about anyone else but when we ate away from home I always checked the temp of food before giving it to my kids.[/QUOTE]

Exactly who gives a 4 year old food without checking it....:shake:

[DizneyRox]

Hey, I'm going to have to eat at Cosmic Ray's next time! I can't remember the last time I got something HOT HOT HOT at WDW. Usually it's luke warm, not cold enough to complain, but not hot enough to my liking.

[BrerGnat]

My son burned his chin on a cookie sheet that had just come out of a 450 degree oven.

He does not have permanent scarring...

I don't buy it. The parents should have been more careful about the food they gave to their child.

In addition, as far as I know, "hot cheese sauce" is not, technically, part of any sort of Kid's Meal at Disney. So, it's not like this item was intended for consumption by a 4 year old.

And, isn't the cheese sauce self serve? Doesn't it come in a paper cup? Can't you feel that it's hot when you're holding the cup and dispensing the sauce?

Idiot parents...

[Granny Jill A]

I saw a picture of the little boy's face. I can't figure out how the sauce was spilled on his face. Who spilled it? The boy or his parents?
Didn't they notice the sauce was molten when they dispensed it over the nachos? Or did the boy serve himself? Finally, who gives a 4-year-old child hot food without testing it themselves?

I'm sorry the little guy got burned, but Disney is not the culprit here.

[dnickels]

Plaintiffs: Isaiah Harris , Carmen Maria Harris and Michael Jerome Harris, Jr.
Defendants: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc.

If you do a little search you can find a civil filing against a 'Carmen Harris' recently in San Diego county for unlawful detainer. Basically what happens when a tenant has to be kicked out of an apartment for not paying rent.

Gee, she doesn't sound like the type that would be after money now does she? ;)

[DisneyMom12]

No one would sue Disney because of blisters on their feet!!!

BUT I am thinking of a class action lawsuit against Disney for emotional distress after leaving the park. I suffer depression, fatigue, and either weight loss or gain. Anyone want in on my suit.

:rotfl:

[DisneyMom12]

According to another article, the boy spilled it on himself while eating at Cosmic Rays. The lawyer "thinks" the cheese was 160 degrees but isn't sure. The photo does show blistering above the boys mouth. The lawyer goes on to say, parents have the right at Disney to expect childrens' food to be served at a reasonable temp.

While I feel sorry for the boy IMHO there comes a point parents have to stop blaming their negligence on everyone else. I don't know about anyone else but when we ate away from home I always checked the temp of food before giving it to my kids.

I agree.

[Ian]

Here's the way I see it ...

If, in fact, a Disney server somehow dropped scalding hot cheese on the face of a four year old, resulting in burns to the face and scarring then these folks deserve to be compensated.

Sadly, I suspect that's not the case. First off, as far as I can remember, the nacho cheese at Cosmic Ray's is served ice cold out of a pump dispenser. Secondly, nothing at Disney World is served hot enough to leave scars. Third, there are no servers at Cosmic Ray's, ergo it's impossible that a Disney employee dumped it on him. And perhaps most importantly, if this happens I'm 100% certain that Disney would have a report on it, the parents would have raised a stink, and Disney wouldn't be just finding out about it.

I hate to speculate, but if I had to bet I'd bet the parents burned the kid themselves to try and set up a scam on Disney. Unfair? Maybe, but based on my extensive years observing human behavior that's where I'm placing my money.

[jlmct52]

IF, the child was burned as badly as stated, I am sure Disney would have filed an accident report. I am also sure they would have photos of the incident. Sounds like someone is trying to use their stupidity to increase their wallet size.

No one would sue Disney because of blisters on their feet!!!

BUT I am thinking of a class action lawsuit against Disney for emotional distress after leaving the park. I suffer depression, fatigue, and either weight loss or gain. Anyone want in on my suit.

You have an excellent idea for a lawsuit and I'll join you in it! Class action lawsuit maybe?:mickey:

I don't know why we never did this before!

[cer]

Didn't they notice the sauce was molten when they dispensed it over the nachos?

"molten"

LOL! :rotfl:

[TinkerbellT421]

People are so suit happy these days. This story brings back memories of the illicit.....McDonalds coffee is too hot when the woman proceeded to drive with scolding coffee cup between her legs....now Im not even going to attempt to go there but seriously...

Ok, like everyone else has already pointed out IF the story is true, then yes they should be compensated if the employee accidentally spilled the cheese on the child. But IMHO, its a bull story.

And honestly, why did these things never happen to us as children???????????? My mom and dad would always make sure something was cool enough for me to eat or drink before giving it to me. Especially as a child not being stable enough to handle something that would be hot like adults can. Why didnt the parents, knowing nacho cheese is served hot to a certain extent, make sure it wasnt TOO hot before giving it to him!?!? These stories annoy me when its pretty apparent that some of the responsibility should lay on the parents and the lack of common sense....but again thats IMHO. :confused:

[clausjo]

I don't know about Cosmic Rays, but we ate at Pecos Bills last week and I noticed there were signs right in front of the cheese pumps warning that the contents is hot. I also think this family is out to try to get whatever they can. I can't imagine one of my kids getting hurt to that extent and not asking someone working there there for some ice or taking them to the first aid center. It just doesn't add up. So sad, really.

[Darbylew]

We have had the cheese before and it has
never been that hot. I think parents should
test any foof for a child before the child eats
it or handles it in anyway. People these days
sue for any reason. Things didn't use to be the
way they are today.

[wildernesslady]

We always check the kids food before they even touch it. That is the adults responsibility. A 4 year old should not be near any type of sauce without an adults help. My 3 yr. old grandson always blows on his food to make sure it isn't too hot. I feel badly for the child and hope there wasn't any fool play involved.

[DizneyRox]

And honestly, why did these things never happen to us as children????????????
I grew up in a house that was laden with asbestos and lead paint, in the pantry was just a sink on legs with every chemical under the sun sitting there without child proof caps to keep me out, I walked to school up hill both ways in the freezing winter by myself from like the second grade and I managed to turn out just fine!

How this many people can't seem to make it through a vacation these days without hurting or killing themselves is beyond me.

[TinkerbellT421]

I grew up in a house that was laden with asbestos and lead paint, in the pantry was just a sink on legs with every chemical under the sun sitting there without child proof caps to keep me out, I walked to school up hill both ways in the freezing winter by myself from like the second grade and I managed to turn out just fine!

How this many people can't seem to make it through a vacation these days without hurting or killing themselves is beyond me.

Exactly!! I remember vividly as a kid, going to bakery and my mom getting me a strawberry shortcake thing. I remember eating it at home and I started choking on something, I was probably about 8 years old. It ended up being the piece of the bags they squirt the cream out, the tip had fallen off. My mom got it out of my mouth. She kindly went back to the store and asked for her money back, half eaten strawberry shortcake and tip in hand, they apologized and gave her a grocery shopping trip for free. Even though she just wanted her money back (which was probably $1.50) lol. She didnt even make a scene, and i remember her telling me when I was upset that "Honey accidents happen and we have to be smart enough to not let the situation hurt us more".

Hmmm thinking about it now, I wonder if I can still sue!??! :woohoo:

[Victor Kelly]

Hey hey hey the suing for blisters and sore feet was my idea.:rotfl:

When we were there this past September I remember the cheese being self serve and not really that hot.

I feel for the kid, but come on, not the parents.

[Ian]

People are so suit happy these days. This story brings back memories of the illicit.....McDonalds coffee is too hot when the woman proceeded to drive with scolding coffee cup between her legs....now Im not even going to attempt to go there but seriously...In fairness, the McDonald's lawsuit is much maligned, but if you do some research that suit actually had merit.

Apparently, McDonald's really was serving their coffee at an unsafe temperature. They lost that suit, paid out, and reduced the temperature at which they serve their coffee as a result of that suit.

[ti2gr]

If the temperature of the nacho cheese goes any lower they'll be able to just slice it. It's not THAT hot at all.

Secondly based on the original post, this supposedly happened last March, Why is that almost a year later a suit is being filed.

Thirdly, the sauce is self serve. Cosmic Rays is a fast food restaurant, they do no have servers.

Parents, and people in general, need to start taking responsibility of their own actions. sorry that the kid got burned, but what were the parents up to? I've had that sauce many times and stuck my finger in the little cup it was dispensed into and didn't even feel warm.

[March Hare]

According to another article, the boy spilled it on himself while eating at Cosmic Rays. The lawyer "thinks" the cheese was 160 degrees but isn't sure. The photo does show blistering above the boys mouth. The lawyer goes on to say, parents have the right at Disney to expect childrens' food to be served at a reasonable temp.

I work in the food service industry and can tell you the Federal guidelines for food safety to hold food is above 140 degrees or below 40 degrees and most food must be heated to above 165-180 degrees when first cooked so 160 degrees would be reasonable and expected for hot food do to FEDERAL LAW so i guess if you don't like it you should sue the government not Disney :thedolls:

[cather74]

Nacho cheese is too thick to spill IMHO. They won't see a dime out of Mickey. And rightfully so.

[Dirty Bird Street]

Finally, a lawsuit where I can use science to disprove it! (Disney can send me a check at any time.)

So this poor little fella was allegedly scalded by nacho cheese hovering somewhere around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. So far, this is totally plausible—scalding can occur with liquids or semi-solids at that temperature. We've all spilled hot wax or coffee onto ourselves in the past, right? Scalding can and does happen often.

Scarring, however, is a big claim. Medically speaking, you won't really have scarification unless you have a fairly deep second degree burn, one that progresses well beyond the epidermis and past the papillary dermis. Now unfortunately, here's where I bring up thermodynamics. (Feel free to skip to the next post; this will be boring.)

If nacho cheese is at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, once it goes (presumably) airborne and lands on somebody's skin, it begins to lose heat. It's radiating heat into the air the whole time, and once it's in contact with skin, it begins losing heat a lot faster. Skin, being moisture- and lipid-laden, is a fairly efficient heat sink. Thus, whatever nacho cheese was there to burn the child will begin diffusing that heat wherever it is touching the skin. That skin will, then, transfer heat to surrounding tissue, and on and on, as heat will tend to do.

That is where the parents' story fails to hold water: nacho cheese at 160 degrees Fahrenheit will not constantly pump out 160 degrees Fahrenheit worth of heat over the same spot over time. Instead, its temperature will drop fairly quickly as the heat is conducted through the epidermis and so on. I can't accurately graph the temperature over time (I'm only a pretend doctor/lawyer/physicist), but I can say with certainty that 160 degree nacho cheese won't result in anything beyond a fairly icky first degree or borderline superficial second degree burn: maybe a blister, but no scarring.

The defense rests. And has a drink.

[BrerGnat]

If the temperature of the nacho cheese goes any lower they'll be able to just slice it. It's not THAT hot at all.



That made me LOL. Thanks for that. :D

[Kim Possible]

Ever since I can remember there's a sign that says "CAUTION HOT CHEESE" so yeah, this whole story is just silly IMHO. plus who lets a 4 yr old go play by themselves....

[magicofdisney]

The cheese at the fixin's bar at Cosmic Rays is exceptionally HOT. I've experienced it more than once. HOWEVER, it is NOT extremely fluid. I don't see how the kid could have stood in place long enough for scarring damage to occur.

Nothing good will come of this and we'll probably loose the cheese from the fixin's bar again!

How do we know it was Cosmic Rays. The cheese is self serve there but it says Disney served it.




"The cheese was scalding hot and resulted in severe burns" to the child, 4-year-old Isaiah Harris, the suit says. The suit alleges that Disney served the cheese "negligently and carelessly" and made "no effort" to regulate its temperature.

[John]

Here's the way I see it ...

If, in fact, a Disney server somehow dropped scalding hot cheese on the face of a four year old, resulting in burns to the face and scarring then these folks deserve to be compensated.

Sadly, I suspect that's not the case. First off, as far as I can remember, the nacho cheese at Cosmic Ray's is served ice cold out of a pump dispenser. Secondly, nothing at Disney World is served hot enough to leave scars. Third, there are no servers at Cosmic Ray's, ergo it's impossible that a Disney employee dumped it on him. And perhaps most importantly, if this happens I'm 100% certain that Disney would have a report on it, the parents would have raised a stink, and Disney wouldn't be just finding out about it.

I hate to speculate, but if I had to bet I'd bet the parents burned the kid themselves to try and set up a scam on Disney. Unfair? Maybe, but based on my extensive years observing human behavior that's where I'm placing my money.

Ice Cold? No... it's hot. Have had it on burgers and fries there plenty of times. Definitely isn't cold.

It's the same thing that has caused all of our coffee to have CAUTON, COFFEE IS HOT on the cups.

The dumbing down of america continues. Take responsibility for your actions and stop blaming it on others.

Amazing.

[VWL Mom]

How do we know it was Cosmic Rays. The cheese is self serve there but it says Disney served it.

There is an article from CBS/WKMG which names Cosmic Rays as the culprit and has a photo of the boy.

Honestly, I have looked at the picture a few times and it doesn't add up to me. I hope these parents didn't hurt this child to make a quick buck but something seems amiss here.

[VWL Mom]

I grew up in a house that was laden with asbestos and lead paint, in the pantry was just a sink on legs with every chemical under the sun sitting there without child proof caps to keep me out, I walked to school up hill both ways in the freezing winter by myself from like the second grade and I managed to turn out just fine!

How this many people can't seem to make it through a vacation these days without hurting or killing themselves is beyond me.

Isn't that the truth :thumbsup:

[Ian]

Ice Cold? No... it's hot. Have had it on burgers and fries there plenty of times. Definitely isn't cold.Huh ... I've only eaten there once in the last three or four years or so and the time I did the cheese was cold. Very cold. In fact, it was hard to get out it was so semi-solid.

Maybe the little dispenser thing was broken.

[brownie]

The boy is 4 years old, so I'd assume he didn't fill the cup. It was a paper cup, so whoever filled it should have been able to tell it was extremely hot. In another article, the boy spilled it when he tried to grab a tray to steady himself. I'm wondering why it looks like in the pictures that he stuck the cup on his face?

It's hard to know what really happened, and Disney will probably end up settling because it will cost less in the long run. You keep hot things away from young kids (sometimes it's best to keep it away from adults, too.) I feel bad for the boy, but it's hard to believe the story at this point.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Here's the way I see it ...

If, in fact, a Disney server somehow dropped scalding hot cheese on the face of a four year old, resulting in burns to the face and scarring then these folks deserve to be compensated.

Sadly, I suspect that's not the case. First off, as far as I can remember, the nacho cheese at Cosmic Ray's is served ice cold out of a pump dispenser. Secondly, nothing at Disney World is served hot enough to leave scars. Third, there are no servers at Cosmic Ray's, ergo it's impossible that a Disney employee dumped it on him. And perhaps most importantly, if this happens I'm 100% certain that Disney would have a report on it, the parents would have raised a stink, and Disney wouldn't be just finding out about it.

I hate to speculate, but if I had to bet I'd bet the parents burned the kid themselves to try and set up a scam on Disney. Unfair? Maybe, but based on my extensive years observing human behavior that's where I'm placing my money.

Ian, if that is the case, these parents should be arrested and charged with child abuse...

I am going to file a lawsuit agaisnt these parents for being _______________ (fill in your own word here)....

[Altair]

So now, on the basis of a small paragraph in a news report, we have convicted the parents of child abuse.:flag:
Maybe we should wait for all the evidence and then convict them of child abuse.

[badkitty]

It is awful a child was injured.

I'd like to know if the parents reported the incident when it happened. Did they let anyone at Disney know at the time? Did they go to first-aid? When was the picture taken? Why did it take so long to file suit?

[disney obsessed]

My husband is an attorney. He actually had a Mcdonalds law suit in the late 80's early 90's where a child was significantly and permantly scarred from coffee and it was one of the things that helped make the caution signs more prominant. I find it hard to believe that an attorney would take a case like this without providing merit and then the court has to agree that the merit is there. Nonsense, frilvilous suits usually get weeded out of the court system. I chose to wait until I hear the outcome of that hearing before making any judgments on anyone.

I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with the level this thread has taken. Not all law suits are bad and most attorneys are very ethical.

[johnO]

My husband is an attorney. He actually had a Mcdonalds law suit in the late 80's early 90's where a child was significantly and permantly scarred from coffee and it was one of the things that helped make the caution signs more prominant. I find it hard to believe that an attorney would take a case like this without providing merit and then the court has to agree that the merit is there. Nonsense, frilvilous suits usually get weeded out of the court system. I chose to wait until I hear the outcome of that hearing before making any judgments on anyone.

I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with the level this thread has taken. Not all law suits are bad and most attorneys are very ethical.

I don't agree. Altough your Husband is probably a stand up guy, not all lawyers are. With the "Deep pockets" theory practiced by so many ambulance chasing lawyers, often, there is absolutely ZERO expectation of winning the case. Rather, they rely on the belief that large corporations or municipalities will "settle out of court." The corporations or municipaliyes see it as a way to save money because if they have to defend themselves in court, costs are incurred. They can actually shell out a few grand, end the suit, and save money in the end..

I deal with this type of thing regularly. Whether in court, or taking reports for "Civil Matters" which are obviously frivilous.

[disney obsessed]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

IF, the child was burned as badly as stated, I am sure Disney would have filed an accident report. I am also sure they would have photos of the incident. Sounds like someone is trying to use their stupidity to increase their wallet size.

No one would sue Disney because of blisters on their feet!!!

BUT I am thinking of a class action lawsuit against Disney for emotional distress after leaving the park. I suffer depression, fatigue, and either weight loss or gain. Anyone want in on my suit.

Count my in :mickey::ambal:

[DizneyFreak2002]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

Not to get off the subject, but, the American people and the lawyers made things this way...

[Victor Kelly]

Also think about what I am about to ask and say.

Does anyone ever wonder why so many companies invest heavily in camera systems, and recording hardware and software? It is to protect themselves.

However, it is impossible for any human to constantly observe a video screen. Many of us would be suprised how many cameras there probably are in Disney. Perhaps it is time for Disney to start putting cameras everywhere just in case. As I see it there is no expectation of privacy in a public places except restrooms, therefore they can be placed.

I suggest this as only one possible way for Disney to ever be able to prove no wrong doing on their part. But I feel there will always be somebody out there looking for a quick way to make a buck.

[A Big Kid]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

Sad, indeed. But it is a reputation that is well deserved.

[DizneyRox]

Many of us would be suprised how many cameras there probably are in Disney.
My guess is the ONLY time you're NOT on camera at WDW is in the bathroom. And if I'm that far off from the reality, I'd be floored.

[antngoof89]

Well, I have several things to add about this situation...

I ate at Cosmic Rays my last trip, about a month ago, on said nacho cheese sauce there is a warning sign, clear as day, saying "HOT." It is a requirement by the law that all self serve equipment be marked if it is a warming tool. Also, the cheese can not possible be 160 degrees as the lawyer stated. Cheese sauces and other foods that are served warm have to held at 130 degrees to be food safe. If the food was 160 degrees of higher, it'd be runny and that cheese sauce is not runny, in fact, it's barely even hot. At my job we just had a problem like this. My employees cooked a pizza the proper way, put the pizza on a serving pan, which is different than the pan used for cooking, and was served to the customer. Apparently this customer tripped on the wet floor (the floor is carpet by the way, wet carpet doesn't make ya trip) and got 3rd degrees burns on her arm because she fell into the pizza and was burnt by the pizza cheese. This customer had someone get her a bag of ice, but the other customers refused to tell us what the ice was for. We had no idea she had been burned until her father called later that night cursing me out. This sounds like the same thing.

People just get more ignorant, greedy, and flat out stupid all the time. It's pathetic. Disney should not lose this one, if they do, I will have officially lost all hope in our judicial system.

[johnO]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

Its the best system around, but that doesn't mean it's without fault. Unfortunately, it only seems to get worse.


Sad, indeed. But it is a reputation that is well deserved.


Aint it the truth. Not only are people suit happy, the criminal justice system is insane. The same violent offenders offered probabtion, over and over.

[GothMickey]

Wow, so this family is also being brought to court because they failed to pay their rent? Is this true? Hm. Let's see. Let's sue Disney so Disney can pay our rent. Yep.

Now, playing Devil's Advocate. Was the cheese ovr the legal limit? Just like the one McDonald's case where the woman sued for spilling hot coffee on herself. She didn't win because the legal system in the US stinks (it does), but she won because the coffee was HOTTER than legally allowed. I know this case is usually the subject of a lot of jokes, but the people cracking the jokes don't know the facts behind it. Maybe this case is the same situation. While the parents should have been watching their 4 year old, if Disney had set the cheese to be heated at a temperature higher than legally allowed, then Disney has a problem and the family has a case.

[John]

Lets keep this on topic....

[Granny Jill A]

Finally, a lawsuit where I can use science to disprove it! (Disney can send me a check at any time.)

So this poor little fella was allegedly scalded by nacho cheese hovering somewhere around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. So far, this is totally plausible—scalding can occur with liquids or semi-solids at that temperature. We've all spilled hot wax or coffee onto ourselves in the past, right? Scalding can and does happen often.

Scarring, however, is a big claim. Medically speaking, you won't really have scarification unless you have a fairly deep second degree burn, one that progresses well beyond the epidermis and past the papillary dermis. Now unfortunately, here's where I bring up thermodynamics. (Feel free to skip to the next post; this will be boring.)

If nacho cheese is at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, once it goes (presumably) airborne and lands on somebody's skin, it begins to lose heat. It's radiating heat into the air the whole time, and once it's in contact with skin, it begins losing heat a lot faster. Skin, being moisture- and lipid-laden, is a fairly efficient heat sink. Thus, whatever nacho cheese was there to burn the child will begin diffusing that heat wherever it is touching the skin. That skin will, then, transfer heat to surrounding tissue, and on and on, as heat will tend to do.

That is where the parents' story fails to hold water: nacho cheese at 160 degrees Fahrenheit will not constantly pump out 160 degrees Fahrenheit worth of heat over the same spot over time. Instead, its temperature will drop fairly quickly as the heat is conducted through the epidermis and so on. I can't accurately graph the temperature over time (I'm only a pretend doctor/lawyer/physicist), but I can say with certainty that 160 degree nacho cheese won't result in anything beyond a fairly icky first degree or borderline superficial second degree burn: maybe a blister, but no scarring.

The defense rests. And has a drink.

Hey, you sound just like Carl Sagan. I thank you for the easy-to-follow explanation about hot cheese sauce. I've burned my mouth on cheese pizza, and even raised a blister (it stuck to my lip). But I survived with no scars; just a healthy respect for hot, cheesy pizza.

[Pagan]

I had an accident at work while inspecting a fire system in a restaurant 10 years ago where both my legs fell into the vat fryer and 375 degree cooking oil. I have MINIMAL scarring from that.

Unless Disney's serving nacho cheese at white hot temps, this is a bogus lawsuit.

[Gusgus]

I also agree that I have seen the "hot" sign by the cheese. Our family eats the cheese at the Starlight every visit and I have always found it on the cool side. Who knows what temperature it was this day.

That said, burn damage to children can be far worse than an adult. Several years ago I was visting my aunt and a neighbor stopped by with their toddler aged child. I literially thought the child was in a fire. The amount of their body that was burned and the severity of the DEEP scarring I thought could be caused by nothing else but a fire. The neighbor seeing my reaction told me she made coffee, left the coffee on the table, and the child pulled the cup on top of themselves. She said it was her fault for not paying attention and the child needs multiple painful surgeries. What a lot of guilt to carry around.

To this day I am astonished at how much damage one cup of coffee on a small child could cause. I wouldn't be surprised hot cheese could damage a child worse than an adult.

I know when I get hot cheese it's hot. Soup is hot. Coffee is hot and so is hot chocolate. I don't blame others for burning my tounge or my lip on my hot food. If my child was burned by any of these things that I had in front of me, I would blame myself for not being careful. I wouldn't blame someone else for making things I expect to be hot too hot.

Gusgus

[disneyboundagain]

No one will ever know how hot the cheese was on that day, at that point in time. I can say, with certainty, that this incident has affected cheese Disney-wide. I ordered nachos at Whispering Canyon yesterday, knowing about this thread. I grabbed a chip covered with cheese as soon as the plate hit the table, and the cheese was slightly warmer than ice. Needless to say, it ruined the nachos.

[Cinderelley]

Hey, you sound just like Carl Sagan. I thank you for the easy-to-follow explanation about hot cheese sauce. I've burned my mouth on cheese pizza, and even raised a blister (it stuck to my lip). But I survived with no scars; just a healthy respect for hot, cheesy pizza.

After being at work for 8 hours, doped up on dayquil and halls cough drops, I thought you said "thank you for your cheesy-to-follow explanation" :laughing:

[plutosnana]

Ridiculous. Thanks now we get to pay more! >:/


:goofy:

[WishingStar2006]

I don't like it when people make up things to get money, if that is the case here...but we don't know.

I was thinking about how a CM could have gotten it on the child....and here's my scenario, for what it's worth....the nacho cheese sauce was running low....the CM went into the kitchen and microwaved a new bag of nacho cheese...then carried it out into Cosmic Rays to "dump"it into the Nacho Cheese dispenser and as fate would have it, the little boy and the CM were too close to each other and a splash went on the child's face. Parent's coulda been standing right there and the little one scurried by and "ouch"!!!

It coulda happened that way and it woulda been plenty hot.....just saying it is plausible.

With that said, I do think that parents should be a little more aware of where their 4 - 6 year child is. If there was time for the "splash", there was time for just about anything bad happening to the poor child.

[BrerGnat]

I was thinking about how a CM could have gotten it on the child....and here's my scenario, for what it's worth....the nacho cheese sauce was running low....the CM went into the kitchen and microwaved a new bag of nacho cheese...then carried it out into Cosmic Rays to "dump"it into the Nacho Cheese dispenser and as fate would have it, the little boy and the CM were too close to each other and a splash went on the child's face. Parent's coulda been standing right there and the little one scurried by and "ouch"!!!

But that's not what happened. There is really no need to speculate; the parents laid out the scenario, and by their account, it was an accident, and 100% the child's fault. Kid lost his balance, reached out for the tray of food to steady himself, and flung the nacho cheese sauce cup up in the air and it landed on his face. Supposedly. What they are arguing is that the cheese was TOO hot, and that Disney "didn't care" about their son's injuries (which I highly doubt is true; I bet Disney didn't even KNOW about this until the lawsuit was filed).

In your scenario, that would have been 100% the fault of the CM, and a lawsuit would probably have been merited.

[Crow]

Count me in:D

u were watching your kids right.... im a little skeptical

[EeyoresBestFriend]

I had an accident at work while inspecting a fire system in a restaurant 10 years ago where both my legs fell into the vat fryer and 375 degree cooking oil. I have MINIMAL scarring from that.

Unless Disney's serving nacho cheese at white hot temps, this is a bogus lawsuit.

:confused: :confused:

How in gawds green earth did you get in a position to fall in a fryer?!?!?!? :D

I am gobsmacked . . . . .

[TinkerbellT421]

:confused: :confused:

How in gawds green earth did you get in a position to fall in a fryer?!?!?!? :D

I am gobsmacked . . . . .

Working in the fire alarm occupation as well...its very easy...there are devices that need to be tested above fryers. Our state makes it mandated to do quarterly testing of fire alarm systems/devices. And while Im not a technician in the field, I work in the office, but know a lot of what the testing involves its surprisingly easy. Alot of times there are detectors that are required to be installed about fryers so this way here if the fryer gets to hot are starts to create a fire or smoke as its not supposed to it will activate the fire alarm system. So if he was testing or installing a device above it its very easy. My technicians have horror stories on a daily basis when it comes to jobs lol

[EeyoresBestFriend]

Thanks, TinkerbellT421!

I guess I'm naive thinking that those sorts of things would be installed/tested when the fryers are emptied, off or being cleaned.

Count me out of that kind of environment :D

[Skippy]

How did the child lose balance? Was he leaning back in the chair or did someone knock into him?

With the suit as laid out, it really sounds fishy.

[TinkerbellT421]

Thanks, TinkerbellT421!

I guess I'm naive thinking that those sorts of things would be installed/tested when the fryers are emptied, off or being cleaned.

Count me out of that kind of environment :D

Your not naive hun :) In a perfect world (I do inspection scheduling for fire alarms) We try to do that. But usually the only times those systems are off, are after normal business hours, which means customers having to pay after hours rates, and obviously with these economic times, alot of customers wont do it. And you cant force them to either. So the next thing is having to work around them. So its a great thought but unfortunately not always possible. I feel so bad for my techs most of them time. Just the things they have to deal with is outrageous. But they chose that career and job and I give them a lot of credit.

[honeebee86]

Just wanted to add in my feelings....ok first of all yes, the cheese sauce at Cosmic Rays is hot and sometimes VERY hot. However, there is a sign right underneath it that warns guests of this fact. So regardless of how the sauce or if the sauce caused this child to get burned as badly as claimed, Disney is not responsible.....the parents should have been more careful about allowing their child to eat it. And I for one know some parents seem to forget their roles as parents once they enter WDW. Can't tell you how many times I have been amazed at the lack of supervision and parenting just because they are on vacation. When I was a CP one thing they told us during training was that we must never agree to watching someone's child even if the parent says it is for a moment. It must happen a lot if they tell new CMs this.

[luvdiznee]

.....the parents should have been more careful about allowing their child to eat it. And I for one know some parents seem to forget their roles as parents once they enter WDW. Can't tell you how many times I have been amazed at the lack of supervision and parenting just because they are on vacation. When I was a CP one thing they told us during training was that we must never agree to watching someone's child even if the parent says it is for a moment. It must happen a lot if they tell new CMs this.

That is so true. So many kids are unsupervised, being allowed to act whatever way they want, just because they are on "vacation". Some parents take this as a vacation from parenting.

[Narawen]

Just wanted to add in my feelings....ok first of all yes, the cheese sauce at Cosmic Rays is hot and sometimes VERY hot. However, there is a sign right underneath it that warns guests of this fact. So regardless of how the sauce or if the sauce caused this child to get burned as badly as claimed, Disney is not responsible.....the parents should have been more careful about allowing their child to eat it. And I for one know some parents seem to forget their roles as parents once they enter WDW. Can't tell you how many times I have been amazed at the lack of supervision and parenting just because they are on vacation. When I was a CP one thing they told us during training was that we must never agree to watching someone's child even if the parent says it is for a moment. It must happen a lot if they tell new CMs this.

It's true at a lot of tourist attractions. I work in a museum that's family-friendly, although not specifically geared towards children. Parents constantly allow their kids to run around, hop into roped-off areas to touch exhibits, and try to leave children alone with employees. The wort part is not knowing how parents are going to react. Some parents have kids running around and look at me, the employee, like "Why aren't you stopping them?", while others get angry at employees for telling their children in the most polite tone to please stop running. I imagine at Disney it's that much worse for CMs.

[big blue and hairy]

Parents constantly allow their kids to run around, hop into roped-off areas to touch exhibits, and try to leave children alone with employees. The wort part is not knowing how parents are going to react. Some parents have kids running around and look at me, the employee, like "Why aren't you stopping them?", while others get angry at employees for telling their children in the most polite tone to please stop running. I imagine at Disney it's that much worse for CMs.
It makes me crazy to see kids running around in places like that when they shouldn't be. I don't blame the kids, they are....well....kids! Parents of those kids are to blame. I know, I know, there are exceptions, the kid slips away and it takes a little bit to wrangle them back, that's not what I'm talking about. My example is at a restaurant. People are eating, servers are serving (hopefully hot food) and a child is runing through the restaurant being ignored by the parent. I am amazed not to have seen a server tripped by a kid and the tray land on the kid. I am sure in that situation the irresponsible parent would be blaming the server and the restaurant. We seem to be in a world where there are more safety precautions, but not enough personal responsiblity. I do repeat though, I don't think it's the majority. As always the bad minority ruin it for everyone else.

:sulley:

[Cinderelley]

Is it just the nurse coming out in me or does anyone else feel like ordering nachos for a four year old is a poor nutritional choice?

[magicofdisney]

Is it just the nurse coming out in me or does anyone else feel like ordering nachos for a four year old is a poor nutritional choice?
I don't feel that way while at Disney.

I believe it's sauce and not nachos that are served. They use the sauce for chili cheese fries, chili dog and general dipping sauce.

[Mousemates]

Is it just the nurse coming out in me or does anyone else feel like ordering nachos for a four year old is a poor nutritional choice?

I think its just the nurse in you :secret:...(but that is not necessarily a bad thing:thumbsup:)...however, i think most of us kind of put nutrition on the back burner on vacation (especially one where we burn as many calories as we do during a day in WDW).

[Cinderelley]

I think its just the nurse in you :secret:...(but that is not necessarily a bad thing:thumbsup:)....

:laughing: Yes, I need to be reminded of reality every once in a while. :thumbsup:

[BrerSchultzy]

I feel terrible for the child. Every time I hear about a child getting hurt, and I don't think any of the reports deny that the child was hurt, I think of my son, and how I feel when he gets hurt.

BUT, it's up to the parents to turn every bad experience into a positive one. If my son was burned by hot nacho cheese sauce, we'd seek medical attention, do everything we could to make him feel better and get that smile back on his face... and probably buy him a ridiculously expensive toy.

These parents turned a negative into a really big negative. Now their entire vacation has this cloud over it, and the child was denied happiness because the parents reacted the wrong way.

[brownie]

Your not naive hun :) In a perfect world (I do inspection scheduling for fire alarms) We try to do that. But usually the only times those systems are off, are after normal business hours, which means customers having to pay after hours rates, and obviously with these economic times, alot of customers wont do it. And you cant force them to either. So the next thing is having to work around them. So its a great thought but unfortunately not always possible. I feel so bad for my techs most of them time. Just the things they have to deal with is outrageous. But they chose that career and job and I give them a lot of credit.

They do have covers that can be put over them, assuming they haven't been lost, misplaced, or absconded with.

[Ramblingman]

Wow, lots of posts representing lots of opinions. FWIW, some thoughts on what I can remember from all the various posts.

First, I don't believe the parents. Not for one second. It sounds to me like yet another of the myriad legal-lottery players hoping for a big payday for no reason.

Second, even assuming there was an actual accident, and assuming there was actual injuries, and assuming the injuries were serious, you would still need to prove negligence on Disney's part. This is the infuriating part for me. It's like the McD's coffee lawsuit, which brings me to...

Third, the lawsuit for McD's coffee only worked because there were people on the jury who had dollar signs in their eyes down the road for themselves. Yes, I know the coffee was actually hotter than it was supposed to be...by a whopping 25 degrees. It was served at around 185 degrees and was supposed to be around 160. I am still waiting for anyone to convince me that if the coffee had been 160, she would have been fine, but that extra 25 degrees was worth $4 Million. Oh, and let's completely absolve the woman of driving with coffee between her legs, too.

Fourth, while there are some lawyers who are ethical, there are also those who are not. It's just like every other profession in history. There are ambulance chasers who will bring a lawsuit for any reason hoping for the big payday of a settlement.

Lastly, I hope against hope that these people are embarrassed and the suit is tossed. I would love to see a loser pays system in addition to some other types of tort reform, but it will likely not happen in my lifetime.

[TinkerbellT421]

They do have covers that can be put over them, assuming they haven't been lost, misplaced, or absconded with.

Except many places will not use them a) because they are using the fryers/cookers/grills, etc or b) the fyers/cookers/grills etc were too recently used to be covered. But in some cases they are used but in most they are not.