A restaurant chain was ordered by a jury on Friday to pay $2.8 million to a Texas woman after the woman sued the restaurant chain for serving her “dangerously hot” barbecue sauce that burned her when she dropped it on her leg.
According to Fox 26, 19-year-old Genesis Monita sued Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises in October of 2023 over allegations that she had received a second-degree burn due to barbecue sauce that had been served at one of the chain’s restaurants in Texas.
Court documents obtained by Fox 26 show that the barbecue sauce burning incident occurred in May of 2023 when Monita ordered breakfast tacos and barbecue sauce from Bill Miller Bar-B-Q.
The lawsuit stated, “When Monita took the container of bar-b-que sauce it was so hot that it caused her to drop the container and spill the sauce on her right thigh causing a second-degree burn.”
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Fox 26 reported that the lawsuit claimed that while Bill Miller Bar-B-Q’s official restaurant policy claims that the barbecue sauce is served at a minimum of 165 degrees, the sauce served to Monita was allegedly 189 degrees.
As a result of the lawsuit, Monita was awarded a total of $2.8 million by the Texas jury, according to Fox 26. The jury determined that the restaurant chain was “grossly negligent” and is required to pay Monita $1.9 million in punitive damages. Meanwhile, Monita was awarded $900,000 for past and future physical and mental pain caused by the incident and $25,000 for medical expenses.
Fox 26 reported that while Bill Miller Bar-B-Q could appeal the jury’s decision, the restaurant chain had not filed an appeal as of Sunday.
Following Friday’s verdict by the Texas jury, Monita’s lawyer, Lawrence Morales, told KSAT, “Bill Miller’s policy says they serve the barbecue sauce at 165 degrees. It was served at 189 degrees on the date Monita was burned. The state says it’s safe to serve at 135 degrees.”
“We feel very pleased by the results of this case,” Morales added. “Genesis just wanted justice.”
