A family is taking legal action against an airline after a routine flight allegedly turned into a painful and life-changing experience for their young daughter.
The parents of an 8-year-old girl are suing Alaska Airlines, claiming she suffered severe burns after hot tea spilled onto her during a flight. According to court documents, the incident happened in November 2022 on a trip from Boston to Portland, Oregon.
The girl, identified in the lawsuit as “AC,” was sitting next to her father when a flight attendant served her a cup of hot tea. The complaint alleges the drink was handed over without a lid or proper warning about where to safely place it.
About 45 minutes before landing, the tea was sitting on the child’s tray table when things suddenly went wrong.
According to the lawsuit, another passenger accidentally bumped the tray, causing the hot liquid to spill directly onto the girl’s lap.
The reaction was immediate and intense.
“The pain was excruciating,” the complaint states, adding that the girl began screaming before running to the bathroom, where she reportedly became so overwhelmed she started vomiting.
A doctor who happened to be on board was called to help and quickly realized the severity of the situation. Due to the location and extent of the burns, the physician recommended the child be taken for urgent medical care as soon as the plane landed.
She was later treated at a children’s hospital in Portland, but the lawsuit claims the impact didn’t end there.
Now 11 years old, the girl is said to be living with permanent scarring from the burns, including marks visible around her bathing suit area. The complaint also states that other children have noticed the scars, prompting her to tell them it was from a “shark bite.”
The lawsuit, originally filed in Rhode Island and recently moved to federal court, names Alaska Airlines as the sole defendant. The family is seeking damages of more than $75,000 and has requested a jury trial.
The airline has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Absolute NONSENSE. How could another passenger hit the child’s tray & what the HELL was the father doing?? Why would an 8 year old even order a hot drink in the first place??? What BS