An American Airlines passenger says he got severe injuries after being 'scalded' by hot coffee during a flight, a lawsuit alleges

Natalie Musumeci
Updated ·2 min read
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  • A Pennsylvania man is suing American Airlines, alleging he was "scalded" by a cup of hot coffee on a flight.

  • The suit says the coffee spilled onto his arm, leaving the man with "severe and permanent injuries."

  • The airline was "careless, reckless and negligent in serving scalding coffee" to the passenger, his suit says.

A Pennsylvania man has filed a civil lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging he was "scalded" on a recent flight from Vietnam to New York City when an attendant spilled an extremely hot cup of coffee on his arm, leaving him with "severe and permanent injuries."

George Latorre was traveling home on October 9 after a vacation with his son to the Southeast Asian country when the "scalding" cup of coffee spilled onto his left arm, according to the lawsuit and Latorre's attorney David Jaroslawicz.

As a result, Latorre suffered "severe and permanent personal injuries, including second degree [burns] to his upper left arm; blistering; peeling, bleeding; possible permanent cosmetic deformity and scarring," the lawsuit, filed in New York and obtained by Insider, states.

Latorre claims that even the tattoo on his arm was left badly damaged by the cup of joe, according to the lawsuit.

When asked for comment on the complaint Monday, an American Airlines spokesperson told Insider that it cannot comment on pending legal matters.

The suit says that the cup of java wound up on Latorre as he was sitting in seat 33J. American Airlines, according to the lawsuit, was "careless, reckless, and negligent in serving scalding coffee to the plaintiff in an unsafe manner" and for "failing to hire and retain competent personnel and employees."

Latorre has undergone "extreme pain and suffering; emotional harm, mental anguish and distress," as well as "loss of sleep" from the pain and will require medical care as a result of the incident, the lawsuit states.

Additionally, the lawsuit says the airline refused to let Latorre purchase a business class seat with extra legroom after he had been "burned" by the coffee.

Latorre sought medical attention after the flight landed and was told that his injuries were "serious enough" that he had to see a surgeon, Jaroslawicz, Latorre's attorney, told Insider.

The suit claims that American Airlines is "liable to pay full, fair and reasonable damages to plaintiff under the Montreal Convention," which stipulates that airlines are liable for any passenger injuries onboard international flights unless it can be proven the traveler was negligent.

Read the original article on Business Insider