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San Francisco Family Sues Heavenly Mountain Resort Over Hot Chocolate Burns to 5-Year-Old

The suit frames the burn as preventable service negligence, not a risk of skiing.

Overview

  • The complaint alleges a server at Heavenly's Sky Deck cafe slid a lidless, excessively hot hot chocolate directly to the child, who spilled it inside her ski suit and was scalded.
  • Attorney Roger Dreyer says the girl suffered burns to her chest and abdomen and now has permanent scars.
  • The case, filed in El Dorado County Superior Court, is pending with a trial scheduled for next winter.
  • The family seeks damages for medical costs, loss of past and future earning capacity, physical and mental suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.
  • Vail Resorts declined substantive comment on the pending litigation, and coverage notes parallels to prior hot-beverage cases including a recent $50 million Starbucks verdict and the 1994 McDonald's case.