Airline in hot water as teen sues for burn damages to his groin regions
Serving hot drinks on a plane can be a risky endeavour. In fact, one hot cup of joe has seen Virgin Australia burned by a lawsuit.
Rhett Butler, 16, is suing the airline after receiving "burns, blisters and scarring to his thighs, groin, genitals and midriff," after a cup of coffee landed on him during a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney in May 2015, according to an AAP report in The Guardian. Youch.
The incident happened shortly after take off. Rhett's father, Brian Butler, provided medical assistance throughout the flight as it's claimed crew did nothing to help.
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It's also alleged that the tray table was defective, tilted downwards and lacking a recess for the coffee cup to sit in.
"It was excruciating and probably the worst pain I have ever felt," Rhett Butler said in a statement issued by Shine Lawyers via email. "It hit my stomach, my groin and my legs. I ran to the toilet and Dad immediately started putting cold water on the burns."
In a statement from the family's representative supplied to Metro, Thomas Janson of Shine Lawyers, said "Mr Butler said he used his own dressing because there were only two bandages and two ice packs on the flight. Burnt and humiliated, a young Butler travelled to and from his seat to the toilets to dress his wounds.
"The young man reports that those wounds took three months to heal, with the emotional scarring going well beyond the burns."
A Virgin Australia spokesperson confirmed the incident via email to Mashable.
"Virgin Australia can confirm an incident did occur on flight VA2 from Los Angeles to Sydney on 3 May 2015," they said.
"Virgin Australia takes the safety and comfort of our passengers extremely seriously, however given this particular matter has not yet been resolved it would not be appropriate to comment any further."
UPDATE: Nov. 22, 2016, 1:26 p.m. AEDT Added a statement from Rhett Butler.
UPDATE: Nov. 22, 2016, 5:11 p.m. AEDT Added statement from Virgin Australia.
