Drive-thru coffee burns can cause serious injuries.
Hot coffee or tea may spill during preparation, handling, or the customer handoff. However, the real question isn’t really about temperature.
The bigger question is often simple: Why did the beverage spill?
What Causes Drive-Thru Coffee Burns?
Several factors may contribute to drive-thru coffee burns.
A lid may not be fully seated. A cup may be damaged or overfilled. An employee may also use a poor handoff method.
Employee training and management oversight matter too.
Restaurants should have procedures for preparing, securing, and handing hot beverages to customers. In addition, managers should make sure employees follow those procedures.
Restaurant Expert Witness Analysis
After a serious coffee burn, a restaurant expert witness may examine:
- Cup and lid systems
- Employee training
- Drive-thru handoffs
- Restaurant procedures
- Management oversight
- Prior incidents
The goal is to understand what happened before the spill.
Coffee is hot. That is obvious.
But temperature alone does not explain drive-thru coffee burns.
Understanding how the beverage was prepared, secured, handled, and delivered may help explain how and why the spill occurred.
Restaurant Expert Witness Howard Cannon has investigated hot coffee and tea burn cases nationwide since 1987, testifying to what the industry standard actually requires and whether it was met.
If you’re an attorney dealing with a case involving a hot beverage burn in a restaurant, contact Restaurant Expert Witness for a no-cost initial consultation, CV, case list, and fee schedule: 800.300.5764.