Arby’s manager ‘beat her hands bloody’ trying to escape walk-in freezer where she died: lawsuit
The manager of a Louisiana Arby’s “beat her hands bloody” before she was found dead inside a walk-in freezer, where she remained trapped for hours because of its busted door, according to a recently filed wrongful death lawsuit.
Nguyet Le, 63, died on May 11, after she became stuck inside the icebox at an Arby’s in New Iberia, La., about 21 miles southeast of Lafayette. Her body was discovered by her oldest son, Nguyen Le, who also worked at the fast food chain.
According to a preliminary autopsy, Nguyet died from hypothermia.
Nguyen and his the rest of his siblings — Nina Le, Trina Le and Tiffani Charubhat — have since filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $1 million in damages. It accuses both Arby’s and franchise owner Turbo Restaurants of gross negligence over its failure to fix the freezer’s door, which had been broken since August 2022.
According to the suit, employees were instructed to use “a box of oil to help keep the freezer door open.” They also needed a screwdriver “to help open and close the door,” it said.
“The investigating officer relayed that inside of the door of the freezer had been bloodied leading him to conclude Ms. Le panicked once locked inside and beat her hands bloody trying to escape or get someone’s attention,” the lawsuit reads.
“Ultimately, she collapsed into a fetal position face down on the frozen floor.”
At the time of her death, Le, who typically worked at the Arby’s in Houston, had been temporarily assigned to work at the Louisiana store.
