SAN ANTONIO (KABB/WAOI) – A Texas barbecue restaurant is facing a $1 million lawsuit from a customer who says she got second-degree burns from scalding hot barbecue sauce.
The lawyers for 19-year-old Genesis Monita say the restaurant should pay for her pain and suffering.
The injuries happened two years ago at a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q location in San Antonio, a local chain.
Pictures show Monita’s second-degree burns on her thigh that she says were caused by spilling the barbecue sauce that came with the breakfast tacos she ordered.
The lawsuit says the 4-oz. plastic cup of sauce was “dangerously hot” and caused her to drop the container and spill the sauce on her leg while she sat in her car.
Monita is now suing the restaurant chain for $1 million, accusing Bill Miller Bar-B-Q of gross negligence.
The lawsuit alleges the restaurant gave her the sauce at a dangerously hot temperature and failed to warn her it was hot. The lawsuit also claims the restaurant did not give her a proper container, and that it failed to train its staff to check the sauce’s temperature.
Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom during the trial Thursday, but Monita and her mom both took the witness stand to describe what they called “severe injuries” that caused Monita to miss work and school. They say the burns also caused Monita to suffer isolation and depression.
Attorneys for Bill Miller Bar-B-Q said they sent Monita a check for her medical clinic bill and offered to cover her lost wages from missing work. They also offered to pay to clean her car where she spilled the sauce.
Monita, however, declined the offer.
“Now, you want more than that?” attorneys for Bill Miller Bar-B-Q said inside the courtroom.
“No,” Monita replied. “Just what the jury thinks is fair.”
The restaurant chain’s lawyers also pointed out that Monita never went back to the medical clinic after her initial visit, and they said that Monita remains employed at the same job she had at the time.
Monita’s lawyers told the judge they plan to rest their case, while lawyers for Bill Miller Bar-B-Q said they intend to bring Monita back to the witness stand.
Then, both sides will offer closing arguments before the case goes to the jury to decide.
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