Approximately $3 million has been paid to a woman by Dunkin’ franchisee to settle a lawsuit alleging severe burns and life-altering injuries after hot coffee fell on her lap.

According to the woman, the incident occurred in February 2021 at an Atlanta-area location because the lid of the cup was not secured.

According to the woman’s attorney, the cup’s lid fell off after she was given the drink, causing hot coffee to spill on her lap, causing second- and third-degree burns on her thighs, groin, and abdomen. A statement said she also needed “extensive” skin grafts. She spent weeks at a burn unit in a Georgia hospital, with medical bills totaling $200,000 as a result of the injury.

According to Morgan & Morgan attorney Benjamin Welch, “America may run on Dunkin’, but our client had to re-learn how to walk due to the severity of her burns.” According to us, the spill never would have happened if the drive-thru employee had properly secured the lid on her coffee cup.

The woman, who was 70 years old at the time of the incident, told Welch that the injuries forced her to alter her lifestyle. She still has to apply creams to her burns “several times a day” as walking is painful for her.

Golden Donuts LLC, the franchisee, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The lawsuit does not name Dunkin’ and the company did not respond to a request for comment.

There was a famous McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit several decades ago in which another woman spilled coffee on her lap and suffered third-degree burns.