Parents File Suit After Wawa Cashier Spills Hot Drink Burning Toddler. $3 Million Dollar Settlement.
In the lawsuit of Konzman et al v. Wawa, the Konzman’s sued on behalf of their minor daughter who was seriously injured at a Wawa I south New Jersey. According to the lawsuit, the child’s mother went to the Neptune Wawa to buy two cups of hot tea. The lawsuit claims “as the Wawa store clerk was bagging some of the items, he knocked over a water bottle, which in turn knocked over one of the cups of hot water”. As the cup fell over, the lid came off, causing extremely hot water to splash on N.K.’s upper body, and arms. At the time, N.K. was three years old. She was left with second and third degree burns that covered abut 15% of her upper body. The suit further states that the water dispenser made by Cecilware, allowed water to come out at approximately 180 degrees; “a highly dangerous temperature”, which ultimately caused very serious burns to the toddler. The entire ordeal was caught on Wawa’s security cameras.
The lawsuit filed by Carl and Roya Konzman also stated that Wawa knew of the dangerous temperature level of the hot water dispenser and, by not taking precautions, acted with disregard for the safety of their customers. The lawsuit ultimately settled and was approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni, in the U.S. District Court, for three million dollars. This included approximately $2.5 Million to N.K., and additional $450,000 to the mother, Roya, who also claimed pain and suffering.
In Wawa’s defense, Wawa claimed that the hot water was clearly an “open and obvious” condition, and that the parents did not properly supervise N.K, which contributed to the incident. In a radio interview, the plaintiffs’ lawyer explained that normal shower water is approximately 104 degrees; that is compared to the 180 degrees from the hot water dispenser at Wawa.
Complaint filed May 7th, 2018, answer filed on June 7th, 2018. Settled in March 2020. Konzman filed on behalf of their child CARL KONZMAN, ROYA KONZMAN and N K, Docket No. 3:2018cv08903
