Parents sue because of Hot nacho cheese

[Altair]

So now, on the basis of a small paragraph in a news report, we have convicted the parents of child abuse.
Maybe we should wait for all the evidence and then convict them of child abuse.

[badkitty]

It is awful a child was injured.

I'd like to know if the parents reported the incident when it happened. Did they let anyone at Disney know at the time? Did they go to first-aid? When was the picture taken? Why did it take so long to file suit?

[disney obsessed]

My husband is an attorney. He actually had a Mcdonalds law suit in the late 80's early 90's where a child was significantly and permantly scarred from coffee and it was one of the things that helped make the caution signs more prominant. I find it hard to believe that an attorney would take a case like this without providing merit and then the court has to agree that the merit is there. Nonsense, frilvilous suits usually get weeded out of the court system. I chose to wait until I hear the outcome of that hearing before making any judgments on anyone.

I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with the level this thread has taken. Not all law suits are bad and most attorneys are very ethical.

[johnO]

My husband is an attorney. He actually had a Mcdonalds law suit in the late 80's early 90's where a child was significantly and permantly scarred from coffee and it was one of the things that helped make the caution signs more prominant. I find it hard to believe that an attorney would take a case like this without providing merit and then the court has to agree that the merit is there. Nonsense, frilvilous suits usually get weeded out of the court system. I chose to wait until I hear the outcome of that hearing before making any judgments on anyone.

I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with the level this thread has taken. Not all law suits are bad and most attorneys are very ethical.

I don't agree. Altough your Husband is probably a stand up guy, not all lawyers are. With the "Deep pockets" theory practiced by so many ambulance chasing lawyers, often, there is absolutely ZERO expectation of winning the case. Rather, they rely on the belief that large corporations or municipalities will "settle out of court." The corporations or municipaliyes see it as a way to save money because if they have to defend themselves in court, costs are incurred. They can actually shell out a few grand, end the suit, and save money in the end..

I deal with this type of thing regularly. Whether in court, or taking reports for "Civil Matters" which are obviously frivilous.

[disney obsessed]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

IF, the child was burned as badly as stated, I am sure Disney would have filed an accident report. I am also sure they would have photos of the incident. Sounds like someone is trying to use their stupidity to increase their wallet size.

No one would sue Disney because of blisters on their feet!!!

BUT I am thinking of a class action lawsuit against Disney for emotional distress after leaving the park. I suffer depression, fatigue, and either weight loss or gain. Anyone want in on my suit.

Count my in

[DizneyFreak2002]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

Not to get off the subject, but, the American people and the lawyers made things this way...

[Victor Kelly]

Also think about what I am about to ask and say.

Does anyone ever wonder why so many companies invest heavily in camera systems, and recording hardware and software? It is to protect themselves.

However, it is impossible for any human to constantly observe a video screen. Many of us would be suprised how many cameras there probably are in Disney. Perhaps it is time for Disney to start putting cameras everywhere just in case. As I see it there is no expectation of privacy in a public places except restrooms, therefore they can be placed.

I suggest this as only one possible way for Disney to ever be able to prove no wrong doing on their part. But I feel there will always be somebody out there looking for a quick way to make a buck.

[A Big Kid]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

Sad, indeed. But it is a reputation that is well deserved.

[DizneyRox]

Many of us would be suprised how many cameras there probably are in Disney.

My guess is the ONLY time you're NOT on camera at WDW is in the bathroom. And if I'm that far off from the reality, I'd be floored.

[antngoof89]

Well, I have several things to add about this situation...

I ate at Cosmic Rays my last trip, about a month ago, on said nacho cheese sauce there is a warning sign, clear as day, saying "HOT." It is a requirement by the law that all self serve equipment be marked if it is a warming tool. Also, the cheese can not possible be 160 degrees as the lawyer stated. Cheese sauces and other foods that are served warm have to held at 130 degrees to be food safe. If the food was 160 degrees of higher, it'd be runny and that cheese sauce is not runny, in fact, it's barely even hot. At my job we just had a problem like this. My employees cooked a pizza the proper way, put the pizza on a serving pan, which is different than the pan used for cooking, and was served to the customer. Apparently this customer tripped on the wet floor (the floor is carpet by the way, wet carpet doesn't make ya trip) and got 3rd degrees burns on her arm because she fell into the pizza and was burnt by the pizza cheese. This customer had someone get her a bag of ice, but the other customers refused to tell us what the ice was for. We had no idea she had been burned until her father called later that night cursing me out. This sounds like the same thing.

People just get more ignorant, greedy, and flat out stupid all the time. It's pathetic. Disney should not lose this one, if they do, I will have officially lost all hope in our judicial system.

[johnO]

Wow.
I guess the public opinion of the current legal system is as jaded as I hoped it was not.
Sad.

Its the best system around, but that doesn't mean it's without fault. Unfortunately, it only seems to get worse.

Sad, indeed. But it is a reputation that is well deserved.

Aint it the truth. Not only are people suit happy, the criminal justice system is insane. The same violent offenders offered probabtion, over and over.

[GothMickey]

Wow, so this family is also being brought to court because they failed to pay their rent? Is this true? Hm. Let's see. Let's sue Disney so Disney can pay our rent. Yep.

Now, playing Devil's Advocate. Was the cheese ovr the legal limit? Just like the one McDonald's case where the woman sued for spilling hot coffee on herself. She didn't win because the legal system in the US stinks (it does), but she won because the coffee was HOTTER than legally allowed. I know this case is usually the subject of a lot of jokes, but the people cracking the jokes don't know the facts behind it. Maybe this case is the same situation. While the parents should have been watching their 4 year old, if Disney had set the cheese to be heated at a temperature higher than legally allowed, then Disney has a problem and the family has a case.

[John]

Lets keep this on topic....

[Granny Jill A]

Finally, a lawsuit where I can use science to disprove it! (Disney can send me a check at any time.)

So this poor little fella was allegedly scalded by nacho cheese hovering somewhere around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. So far, this is totally plausible—scalding can occur with liquids or semi-solids at that temperature. We've all spilled hot wax or coffee onto ourselves in the past, right? Scalding can and does happen often.

Scarring, however, is a big claim. Medically speaking, you won't really have scarification unless you have a fairly deep second degree burn, one that progresses well beyond the epidermis and past the papillary dermis. Now unfortunately, here's where I bring up thermodynamics. (Feel free to skip to the next post; this will be boring.)

If nacho cheese is at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, once it goes (presumably) airborne and lands on somebody's skin, it begins to lose heat. It's radiating heat into the air the whole time, and once it's in contact with skin, it begins losing heat a lot faster. Skin, being moisture- and lipid-laden, is a fairly efficient heat sink. Thus, whatever nacho cheese was there to burn the child will begin diffusing that heat wherever it is touching the skin. That skin will, then, transfer heat to surrounding tissue, and on and on, as heat will tend to do.

That is where the parents' story fails to hold water: nacho cheese at 160 degrees Fahrenheit will not constantly pump out 160 degrees Fahrenheit worth of heat over the same spot over time. Instead, its temperature will drop fairly quickly as the heat is conducted through the epidermis and so on. I can't accurately graph the temperature over time (I'm only a pretend doctor/lawyer/physicist), but I can say with certainty that 160 degree nacho cheese won't result in anything beyond a fairly icky first degree or borderline superficial second degree burn: maybe a blister, but no scarring.

The defense rests. And has a drink.

Hey, you sound just like Carl Sagan. I thank you for the easy-to-follow explanation about hot cheese sauce. I've burned my mouth on cheese pizza, and even raised a blister (it stuck to my lip). But I survived with no scars; just a healthy respect for hot, cheesy pizza.

[Pagan]

I had an accident at work while inspecting a fire system in a restaurant 10 years ago where both my legs fell into the vat fryer and 375 degree cooking oil. I have MINIMAL scarring from that.

Unless Disney's serving nacho cheese at white hot temps, this is a bogus lawsuit.

[Gusgus]

I also agree that I have seen the "hot" sign by the cheese. Our family eats the cheese at the Starlight every visit and I have always found it on the cool side. Who knows what temperature it was this day.

That said, burn damage to children can be far worse than an adult. Several years ago I was visting my aunt and a neighbor stopped by with their toddler aged child. I literially thought the child was in a fire. The amount of their body that was burned and the severity of the DEEP scarring I thought could be caused by nothing else but a fire. The neighbor seeing my reaction told me she made coffee, left the coffee on the table, and the child pulled the cup on top of themselves. She said it was her fault for not paying attention and the child needs multiple painful surgeries. What a lot of guilt to carry around.

To this day I am astonished at how much damage one cup of coffee on a small child could cause. I wouldn't be surprised hot cheese could damage a child worse than an adult.

I know when I get hot cheese it's hot. Soup is hot. Coffee is hot and so is hot chocolate. I don't blame others for burning my tounge or my lip on my hot food. If my child was burned by any of these things that I had in front of me, I would blame myself for not being careful. I wouldn't blame someone else for making things I expect to be hot too hot.

Gusgus

[disneyboundagain]

No one will ever know how hot the cheese was on that day, at that point in time. I can say, with certainty, that this incident has affected cheese Disney-wide. I ordered nachos at Whispering Canyon yesterday, knowing about this thread. I grabbed a chip covered with cheese as soon as the plate hit the table, and the cheese was slightly warmer than ice. Needless to say, it ruined the nachos.

[Cinderelley]

Hey, you sound just like Carl Sagan. I thank you for the easy-to-follow explanation about hot cheese sauce. I've burned my mouth on cheese pizza, and even raised a blister (it stuck to my lip). But I survived with no scars; just a healthy respect for hot, cheesy pizza.

After being at work for 8 hours, doped up on dayquil and halls cough drops, I thought you said "thank you for your cheesy-to-follow explanation"

[plutosnana]

Ridiculous. Thanks now we get to pay more! >:/