DALLAS (WFAA) – A couple from Dallas is taking the owners of a former bar to court.
The couple was left with third-degree burns after they ordered a fiery cocktail that they say exploded.
Looking in the mirror is much harder now than it was two months ago for Abbi Hance-Briscoe and Dustin Johnson.
“They had to shave my head in the hospital to get access to the ear and the scalp where it was burned,” Hance-Briscoe described.
Now, the couple lives in discomfort, recovering from first-, second- and third-degree burns on their upper body.
“That moment gets replayed more than it should,” Johnson said.
It’s all because of a fiery drink order, the couple says, from the former Twisted Trick on Cedar Springs Road.
“My skin was falling off of my arms,” Hance-Briscoe said.
WARNING: This video contains images that some may find disturbing.
Hance-Briscoe and Johnson are now suing the owners of the bar.
In a lawsuit filed in Dallas County, the pair says they stopped in to have a drink on Aug. 26.
Johnson ordered the Flaming Pineapple, an Everclear cocktail, unaware it came with a garnished lime on fire.
“When it was presented to us, I was like, ‘Oh, cute. Cool. It’s on fire,” Johnson said.
Hance-Briscoe snapped a picture before the “bartender added more Everclear to the drink and lit the drink itself with a torch,” according to the lawsuit.
“He goes, ‘I’ll give it a little more,’ and lit the Everclear on fire in our direction,” Hance-Briscoe claimed.
The drink ignited, shattering the glass and spreading fire to the couple, per the lawsuit.
It was a moment of panic, pain and terror, the couple says, that felt like hours as they tried to put the flames out.
Hance-Briscoe’s injuries are the worst.
“They literally had to cut my bra off of me because it was melted into my skin,” Hance-Briscoe said.
Both were rushed to Parkland Health’s burn unit.
Johnson’s beard saved some of his skin, but he was hospitalized for several days.
Hance-Briscoe was there for seven weeks, received three skin grafts and got sepsis, which is impacting her ability to walk.
“One little choice of a restaurant can make all that life-changing difference,” Hance-Briscoe said.
Twisted Trick has since closed down.
Their attorneys responded to the couple’s lawsuit, denying the allegations and saying they’ve failed to provide facts to support them.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission doesn’t have any rules or regulations about serving fiery drinks.
Hance-Briscoe says that there should be some.
“I remember saying going into the ambulance, ‘You can’t separate me from him. He’s all I have,’” Hance-Briscoe said.
The two are now both walking through this chapter through pain together.
A GoFundMe account has been created to help the couple with their growing medical bills.
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