Another lawsuit against Disney - kid burned by hot nacho cheese at Cosmic Ray's About This Page:

[Huntermom]

I've seen a fair share of burn photos and as all us amateurs can plainly see, this one does not look like a splash burn. Fortunately, Disney has lots of money and I have no doubt that they can hire many forensic experts to support their position.

Why are they suing? Because they can and they may recover some money. I am always surprised at how many people think you can sue for any reason and it's not most lawyers who will bring a baseless suit. But like in any profession, you can usually find someone to do what you want. And I have learned that for some people, 5 or 10 K is a lot of money.

Why so long to bring the suit? It takes a while to prepare a suit and you can file any time up until the statute of limitations runs out.

[saibot0001]

I know it's been several months now; did this ever come to resolution? Poor kid...

I just saw this and noticed this was back at the beginning of the year. I wonder how it was resolved too.

[Sunshine Family]

Originally Posted by unewillow

Probably like the million of other poorly supervised kids I [s]ee who are up on their knees, or standing or doing something other than having their butts firmly planted on the seat.

Just FYI - when kids are that size, sitting at an adult sized table, they frequently feel the need to sit on their knees or stand - or anything that gives them the height and balance they need to see the table. I have no idea how tall this kid is, obviously.

I have a very distinct memory from when I was about 12 or so where a mother yelling at her kid to either sit all the way down or stand up in his chair. He stood up to eat his donut. My mother, a special needs preschool teacher, explained to the mother later that the reason why the kid stood up is because of balance. If you're that small, sitting down, and try to reach anything on the table, you're tipping your chair forward, or sliding right off of it in an attempt to reach the food. Hence sitting on the knees. The knees aren't the best choice, sitting all the way down doesn't work, so once the kid was given the "ok" to stand up and eat his food he did it. Because that was the best way to see the food and eat it.

I hope that made some sense?

[krisk11]

Just last week both my dd and myself almost burned ourselves getting the cheese out of the dispensers at Pecos Bill's and Casey's. I love the cheese and know to be careful when dispensing it. Hopefully Disney doesn't do away with the cheese.

[yalibrarian]

My mother, a special needs preschool teacher, explained to the mother later that the reason why the kid stood up is because of balance. If you're that small, sitting down, and try to reach anything on the table, you're tipping your chair forward, or sliding right off of it in an attempt to reach the food. Hence sitting on the knees. The knees aren't the best choice, sitting all the way down doesn't work, so once the kid was given the "ok" to stand up and eat his food he did it. Because that was the best way to see the food and eat it.

I love this! My now grown son has autism, and I work with lots of kids, special needs and otherwise, in our library. This is a cool thing to know--wish I had known this sooner--and I will share it with my fellow librarians, as we have the ususal "adult" size tables and chairs at our craft and food programs for the kids. This explains a lot. Thanks!

[vince730]

Sorry, but I think this is a case where it is the fault of the parent's negligence. The burn marks don't seem to match up correctly with the "story" and of course the amount they are suing for just seems to scream of "milking" Disney for whatever they can. It is the parents' responsibility to keep hot food away from their children and make sure they are eating "safely" - Disney can't be a nanny watching over everything.

What will make the difference in this case is whether or not it can be proven that the nacho cheese sauce (which in all my years of going to Disney I have never seen in Cosmic Rays, by the way??? ) was served at a "too hot for safe consumption" or not. If so, they will probably get the damages and Disney will pay up as to avoid a PR nightmare. But if the temperature is within reasonable serving temps, then the fault lies completely with the parents and they really have no case. My 2 cents

[Sunshine Family]

Originally Posted by yalibrarian

I love this! My now grown son has autism, and I work with lots of kids, special needs and otherwise, in our library. This is a cool thing to know--wish I had known this sooner--and I will share it with my fellow librarians, as we have the usual "adult" size tables and chairs at our craft and food programs for the kids. This explains a lot. Thanks!

I'm glad to help!!

Having a mom who was a special needs preschool/kindergarten teacher really does help put a different spin on lots of things. Instead of looking at a person and asking myself "why the heck are they doing that?" I've learned to look at the situation around the person and say "what is allowing them, or prevent them, from doing that?"

It goes a long way to understanding the motivation that drives people and seeing actions in a different light. It also helps because now I'm not blaming the person for doing XYZ, but thinking to myself how can I structure the assignment, wording, meeting, etc in such a way that it meets what they need to prevent XYZ from happening again - I modify my actions to meet their needs instead of getting frustrated that they keep doing the 'wrong' thing.

I hope it helps you and your co-workers at your job! I know when my mother fought for years for new furniture in her classroom, it was a tough battle to have the administration understand that when you're dealing with preschoolers (3-4 years old) that 1st grade furniture is too damn big!

[Jesser Girl]

I think I have posted this before in this thread. But when I got more cheese from the dispenser for my cheese steak sandwich, the cheese was cold (not hot) by the time I made it down to the table. I didn't have to find a table, my DH, the kids, and my mom got a table while my dad and I were on SM. I can't imagine how the cheese was still that hot by the time they pumped it and got down to a table. Unless the kid took it right after they pumped it and "drank" it (because thats what his burns look like to me) while they were walking to their table. Another thing, EVERY TIME (no matter the season and crowd) Cosmic Ray's is always busy. There has to be someone out there who saw the way the event played out.

[DMatthews33]

Not that this has to do with hot cheese, it does have to do with chairs. At Disneyland, my nephew was sitting on his knees to eat and somehow managed to knock his chair backwards (he was 2 1/2). He fell and hit his head on the concrete. My bro, sil, mom, dad, and a disney worker all run over to him. He gets up and yells, "Stay calm people, I'm alright!" Then, he saw his lunch on the floor and started BAWLING. Full on temper tantrum. Thank God for the Disney guy who rushed in and got him a new sandwich. Just goes to show that my family cares so much more for food than worrying about bodily injury! And, to go with the cheese, I had nacho cheese with my chicken at Cosmic Ray's in July. It was okay hot, but that combo isn't a good choice!

[hockey mom 5]

I did some googling (bing actually) on this and found an article on wdwinfo from June, the suit was settling for $50,000. According to the article, the boy recovered with no permanent injuries. He will receive $33,000 (staggered over several payments at different ages). His parents will receive $17,000 for their emotional trauma - that's the part that gets me. Really, traumatized?

[Jesser Girl]

Originally Posted by hockey mom 5

I did some googling (bing actually) on this and found an article on wdwinfo from June, the suit was settling for $50,000. According to the article, the boy recovered with no permanent injuries. He will receive $33,000 (staggered over several payments at different ages). His parents will receive $17,000 for their emotional trauma - that's the part that gets me. Really, traumatized?

WOW!!!!!

[KHarrod]

Hmmm...so probably covered the medical bills but I'm guessing Disney threw in a bit more. I don't really understand the "staggered at different ages" part; but I'll bet that money won't go into savings for the little boy. And the money for the PARENTS! Are you kidding me?! What a joke.

[mzozzietj]

Originally Posted by DMatthews33

Not that this has to do with hot cheese, it does have to do with chairs. At Disneyland, my nephew was sitting on his knees to eat and somehow managed to knock his chair backwards (he was 2 1/2). He fell and hit his head on the concrete. My bro, sil, mom, dad, and a disney worker all run over to him. He gets up and yells, "Stay calm people, I'm alright!" Then, he saw his lunch on the floor and started BAWLING. Full on temper tantrum. Thank God for the Disney guy who rushed in and got him a new sandwich. Just goes to show that my family cares so much more for food than worrying about bodily injury! And, to go with the cheese, I had nacho cheese with my chicken at Cosmic Ray's in July. It was okay hot, but that combo isn't a good choice!

I just LMBO visualizing him get up and say that! Too cute!

It is sad that the little boy in this case was hurt but I also hate the idea of his parents actually profiting from it. But for Disney it is probably more economical to settle than it is to have to go to court and deal with negative publicity and such.