MASSACHUSETTS --A Franklin couple is seeking $200,000 in damages from a Quincy Dunkin’ Donuts and its insurer, claiming their toddler burned his neck on a “dangerously hot” hash brown patty served at a drive-through.
In a civil suit filed last month, the parents of Cullen MacLeod, 23 months, claim their son suffered “serious and permanent burn injuries” after the hot hash brown fell from his mouth and onto his neck, where it immediately stuck.
“It took only seconds for the extremely high temperature of the interior portion of the food item to severely burn and blister (Cullen’s) skin,” attorney Joseph K. Curran Jr. wrote in a complaint filed in Norfolk Superior Court.
Before handing the hash brown to her son to eat, the boy’s mother, Robin, checked it and found it was “lukewarm,” the suit states. The family claims the hash brown heated up “unevenly” and that the food’s interior temperature was “unsafe for public consumption.”
The Jan. 14 episode left the boy with burns on his neck and chin, the suit states.
Curran, who represents Robin and Greg MacLeod, said the suit is different from the notorious McDonald’s scalding coffee case.
“The perception attached to a case like this is that it’s a McDonald’s-like case, which it is not. It will stand on its own merits,” Curran said.
He declined to elaborate on the toddler’s injuries and said the boy’s parents are not giving interviews.
Dunkin’ spokesman Andrew Mastrangelo said in an e-mail, “At Dunkin’ Donuts, the well-being of our customers is our number one priority. We have been made aware of the complaint and we are looking into the situation.”
The suit also accuses the franchise’s insurer, CNA Insurance Company of Chicago, of refusing to make a “good faith offer” to settle the claim.
A CNA spokeswoman could not immediately provide a comment on the civil suit yesterday afternoon.
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