Winnipeg woman sues Tim Hortons over 'boiling hot' tea spill, defective tray

A Winnipeg woman severely burned from she alleges was "boiling hot" Tim Hortons tea is suing the multinational coffee company.

Norma Rogan, 66, has filed the lawsuit after a visit to one of its Winnipeg restaurants nearly two years agoled to trips to the doctor's office, according to a statement of claim filed April 17 in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench.

Rogan, who issuing for general and special damages, bought two extra-large teas and two extra-large coffees from the Tim's on Main Streeton May 8, 2022, the lawsuit says.

An employee served her those drinks in a cardboard tray, but when she was walking back to her vehicle, the tray collapsed, causing "boiling hot liquid from the teas to scald [her] right arm," according to the claim.

The lawsuit says Rogan suffered severe burns, chronic pain and restrictions in her day-to-day movement. She also has a permanent scar on her arm.

'Defective' tray

The claim also names Okth Inc., which the suit says carries on business at the Tim's north Main Street location, as a defendant.

It says Tim Hortons and Okth served tea that they "ought to have known was not reasonably safe," and that they created "a dangerous hazard by serving tea[s] heated to such an excessive temperature that they can cause severe burns to members of the public."

It also alleges the teas were served in a"defective, ripped and wet" tray, and the defendants shouldn't have allowed both the tea and thetray to be given to customers.

Roganalso suffered a loss of income and incurred out-of-pocket expenses and transportation costs to doctor's appointments, according to the claim.

"The plaintiff has, and will continue to be, for an indefinite period of time, deprived of the normal appearance of her right arm," the lawsuit says.

CBC News has reached out to Tim Hortons and Rogan for comment. No statements of defence have been filed, and the allegations have not been proven in court.

Roganisn't the first Winnipegger to sue the coffee restaurant over hot tea.

In 2013, a woman alleged she suffered second- and third-degree burns after she was scalded by a cup of Tim Hortons tea. She called for new rules to regulatethe temperatures of hot drinks served at restaurants.

Another similarlawsuit was filed in Ontario in March 2023, which alleges a woman burned her stomach and legs at a Tim Hortons drive-thru in Huntsville, Ont. after the cup containing the tea collapsed.