Family of Tim Hortons customer who says she was scalded by hot tea sues for $500K

WARNING: This story contains graphic images of burned skin.

The family of an Ontario woman who says she was was scalded by a cup of hot Tim Hortons tea is suing the coffee-and-doughnut shop's Canadian franchisor and the owner of one of its locations for $500,000 in damages.

But the defendants — TDL Group Corp. and Greenwood Enterprises Inc. — deny any allegations of negligence.

Jackie Lansing, 73, told CBC Toronto she was driving her sister to a medical appointment in May 2022 when they pulled in to the drive-thru at a Tim Hortons on Highway 60 in Huntsville, Ont.

Lansing ordered a medium black tea with two milks, which she said a worker passed to her through the window.

"I took it, put it in the cupholder and I said, 'I don't know, it seems really hot,'" Lansing said in an interview.

"So I lifted it up to see if there was milk in it and the cup collapsed and [the tea] went on my stomach and my legs."

Lansing, who lives just south of Rousseau, Ont., suffered "severe, painful and permanent injuries" from the spill, including second-degree burns on approximately six per cent of her body, according to a statement of claim filed on her behalf in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto in December. 

"I was actually in shock because it was so painful," Lansing said.

The lawsuit argues the restaurant was negligent by giving Lansing the tea at a "scalding temperature" in a defective cup that "collapsed in on itself." 

"The cup provided by the restaurant was faulty and deficient for its intended use," the statement of claim reads. "The black tea provided was ... a hazard rather than a beverage."

Ten months after the injury, Lansing said the backs of her legs are scarred and she still has sores on her stomach.

"I just wish they would accept the responsibility," she said.

The lawsuit identifies TDL Group as the company responsible for the supply of materials and upkeep of standards at the Huntsville Tim Hortons, as well as the leaseholder of the property on which the restaurant is located. TDL Group is an owned subsidiary of Tim Hortons' U.S.-based parent company Restaurant Brands International, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.