Hot coffee litigation has been resurrected after nearly 18 years. Two people have recently filed hot-coffee lawsuits against McDonald’s Corp. Mona Abdelal of Norridge, Illinois has sued McDonalds claiming that her 4-year old granddaughter was burned when she was mistakenly handed a cup of hot coffee by a McDonald’s employee. The child allegedly sustained second-degree burns and permanent scarring.   Abdelal also claims she sustained first degree burns to her fingers when she went to the aid of her granddaughter. Abdelal contends that McDonald’s violated its policy of not serving coffee to minors and its policy of warning customers of the danger of handling hot coffee. 

Paralleling this suit, Melissa Pettigrew of Chicago sued McDonald’s after she sustained what are described as "horrific" burns from hot spilled coffee. Pettigrew claims that she ordered coffee from the drive-through window in 2010 and the coffee was not correctly sealed causing burns to her thighs and abdomen.