California doctor claims spicy Thai dish left her with chemical burns

[cjinchiangrai]

Chili's do not cause that kind of damage. They get nothing.

[sambum]

Not very clear from the article, but the restaurant in question is not in Thailand - it is a Thai restaurant in in California i.e. :- Coup de Thai | Thai Dining | Los Gatos, California

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

They do ask sometimes "ow pet my?", do you want it hot? Answer, "ow" or "may ow". Want, or not want.  Or "kee met", ie how many chilis, for eg som tam, larb, yam and geng. 2 or 3 is enough for me. Of course it helps if you're culturally savvy, at least enough to be able to know what hot is the average Thai, if such an entity existed. But tastes and cuisine vary hugely in Thailand, north,south, central etc. Many Thais don't actually like it fiery hot. And if you can say "I really don't want it hot" in Thai I think they'll hear you! And appreciate it too!

 

I think one problem is that if there is a spicy scale from 0 to 100 many Thais would consider everything below, let's say, 30 not spicy. They can't really understand that anybody would think that is spicy.

A couple of year ago my sister visited me in Thailand. We were in a hotel restaurant, and she wanted to eat something not spicy. We all agreed green curry is not spicy. So, she ordered green curry. And she thought it was so spicy that she couldn't eat it. I tried it, and I couldn't detect anything spicy. So, it seems, we adjust after a while.

[BangkokReady]

3 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

I always boil my water before making my steaming hot cup of coffee, which is the way I demand it......why would I want lukewarm coffee?!

 

Do you serve your coffee in paper cups for people to drink in their cars?  Do you even drink your coffee while the water is still boiling?

 

I think you need to consider the difference between you making a steaming cup of coffee to enjoy in your kitchen once it cools to the temperature you like, and a takeaway coffee for immediate and mobile consumption.

 

3 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

Maybe it's just me, but maybe she shouldn't spill it on her genitals and legs.

 

I'm sure she agrees with you, but here we are.

[hotchilli]

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It's kind of like going to Alaska, camping on a river, and deciding you're not going to eat any fish.

Asking where the toilet is, is best....

[Reddavy]

On 10/24/2024 at 9:50 AM, lom said:

She sued only for $35,000, she can't be American.

Photo and name gives it away. Immigrant more like. True yank would of sued for millions. 🤷🏼

[Gandtee]

3 hours ago, madone said:

not sure why you would feel the need to ask this.

A joke.

[connda]

California doctor claims spicy Thai dish left her with chemical burns

Called capsicum.

[connda]

On 10/24/2024 at 3:33 PM, snoop1130 said:

 

A California neurologist is suing a Thai restaurant, claiming she suffered permanent injuries after eating a spicy dish that she described as “unfit for human consumption.”

 

Harjasleen Walia, a San Jose-based doctor, is demanding over US$35,000 (approximately 1.16 million baht) in damages after an order of Dragon Balls at Los Gatos’ Coup de Thai allegedly left her with chemical burns.

 

The notorious Dragon Balls—a fiery appetizer made with chicken, herbs, and Thai chili—was at the centre of the drama. Walia claims the dish caused “irreversible” damage to her vocal cords, throat, and nose, leaving her with burns from the intense spice.

 

“She incurred permanent injuries and will forever be damaged,” according to the lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

 

On a July 2021 visit to the restaurant, Walia requested the dish be made less spicy due to her low tolerance. But she says that upon taking a bite, her “mouth, throat, and nose burned like fire,” leading to immediate coughing and watering eyes. Despite pleading for dairy products like yoghurt to cool the burning sensation, staff allegedly offered no remedy.

 

 

At the heart of the lawsuit is the bird’s eye chilli, a pepper known to pack a punch with up to 100,000 Scoville Heat Units—about 40 times hotter than a jalapeño. Walia’s legal team claims the restaurant “negligently failed to test the heat intensity” and did not warn about the risks of using such spicy ingredients.

 

Coup de Thai has denied responsibility, with a restaurant supervisor stating that Dragon Balls can’t be made mild as the chilli is already mixed in. The jury trial is set for August 2025, with the restaurant seeking medical records to support Walia’s claims, reported Daily Mail UK.

 

 

By Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of New York Post

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-10-24

 

 

Welcome to America where people can't take responsibility for their own stupidity and instead must "sue the pants off of the bad restaurant for not protecting her from herself".  No doubt she'll move on to sue Mexican restaurant next, 'eh?

 

 

[connda]

On 10/24/2024 at 3:33 PM, snoop1130 said:

 

A California neurologist is suing a Thai restaurant, claiming she suffered permanent injuries after eating a spicy dish that she described as “unfit for human consumption.”

 

Harjasleen Walia, a San Jose-based doctor, is demanding over US$35,000 (approximately 1.16 million baht) in damages after an order of Dragon Balls at Los Gatos’ Coup de Thai allegedly left her with chemical burns.

 

The notorious Dragon Balls—a fiery appetizer made with chicken, herbs, and Thai chili—was at the centre of the drama. Walia claims the dish caused “irreversible” damage to her vocal cords, throat, and nose, leaving her with burns from the intense spice.

 

“She incurred permanent injuries and will forever be damaged,” according to the lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

 

On a July 2021 visit to the restaurant, Walia requested the dish be made less spicy due to her low tolerance. But she says that upon taking a bite, her “mouth, throat, and nose burned like fire,” leading to immediate coughing and watering eyes. Despite pleading for dairy products like yoghurt to cool the burning sensation, staff allegedly offered no remedy.

 

 

At the heart of the lawsuit is the bird’s eye chilli, a pepper known to pack a punch with up to 100,000 Scoville Heat Units—about 40 times hotter than a jalapeño. Walia’s legal team claims the restaurant “negligently failed to test the heat intensity” and did not warn about the risks of using such spicy ingredients.

 

Coup de Thai has denied responsibility, with a restaurant supervisor stating that Dragon Balls can’t be made mild as the chilli is already mixed in. The jury trial is set for August 2025, with the restaurant seeking medical records to support Walia’s claims, reported Daily Mail UK.

 

 

By Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of New York Post

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-10-24

 

 

It's California.  The claimant always wins as Lefties always blame their own lack of insight on others.

"Let's sue McDonlds because their "Hot Coffee" is actually hot and there aren't 10 signs on all the doors, windows, and cup stating that "Hot Coffee Is Hot."  

"Sue the restaurant!!! Grrrrr."

[cardinalblue]

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It's always pretty astonishing when people order a super spicy dish and then ask for it not spicy. It's kind of like going to Alaska, camping on a river, and deciding you're not going to eat any fish. Bizarre at best. Publicity seeking at worst. 

Many rivers in Alaska are catch and release…Are we doing some stereotyping here?

[jimmybcool]

6 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Do you serve your coffee in paper cups for people to drink in their cars?  Do you even drink your coffee while the water is still boiling?

 

I think you need to consider the difference between you making a steaming cup of coffee to enjoy in your kitchen once it cools to the temperature you like, and a takeaway coffee for immediate and mobile consumption.

 

 

I'm sure she agrees with you, but here we are.

 

Some folks here aren't reading the whole story.  Like skin grafts and weeks in hospital.  And multiple people before her also suffering from injury because MCDs was selling this lava in flimsy cups with lids that didn't stay on in a drive-thru window.  I agree on the surface it sounds ridiculous to sue over spilling coffee on oneself.  But the devil is always in the details. 

[OldmanJ]

Most people would ask how spicy hot the food is before ordering or to cut the amount of spice at least,but there's always someone who never thought of that apparently.WHY?

[lordgrinz]

6 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Do you serve your coffee in paper cups for people to drink in their cars?  Do you even drink your coffee while the water is still boiling?

 

I think you need to consider the difference between you making a steaming cup of coffee to enjoy in your kitchen once it cools to the temperature you like, and a takeaway coffee for immediate and mobile consumption.

 

 

I'm sure she agrees with you, but here we are.

 

I don't serve coffee to anyone.

 

Yes, I drink my coffee within a minute of pouring it.

 

I wouldn't buy lukewarm coffee from anyone, I expect it to be steaming hot.

[BangkokReady]

5 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

I don't serve coffee to anyone.

 

Exactly.

 

5 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Yes, I drink my coffee within a minute of pouring it.

 

So you don't drink it at a temperature that will cause third degree burns.

 

5 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

I wouldn't buy lukewarm coffee from anyone, I expect it to be steaming hot.

 

Clearly, but you don't drink it at the same temperature that this women's coffee that seriously injured her.

 

It feels like you're saying you like a very hot cup of coffee, which is fine, but you seem to be conflating the temperature that you drink your coffee at with coffee so hot that it injures someone.  🤷‍♂️

[lordgrinz]

3 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Exactly.

 

 

So you don't drink it at a temperature that will cause third degree burns.

 

 

Clearly, but you don't drink it at the same temperature that this women's coffee that seriously injured her.

 

It feels like you're saying you like a very hot cup of coffee, which is fine, but you seem to be conflating the temperature that you drink your coffee at with coffee so hot that it injures someone.  🤷‍♂️

 

They poured it into a cup, not her lap.

[BangkokReady]

8 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

They poured it into a cup, not her lap.

 

But the temperature was hot enough to cause third degree burns when he did spill it.  Hotter than it needed to be.  Hotter than your coffee when you drink it.

 

You started off by saying you like hot coffee, but then we quickly established that you don't drink your coffee as hot as the coffee this lady was served.

 

I'm a little confused about your point, as it seems to have changed.  🤷‍♂️

[BTB1977]

With the name like dragon balls that should have been her first clue. But to be fair she said that she has had many balls in her mouth and expected salty, not spicy.  

[lordgrinz]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

You started off by saying you like hot coffee, but then we quickly established that you don't drink your coffee as hot as the coffee this lady was served.

 

I never stated that, I said I drink my coffee within one minute of pouring it from boiling. Any cup of coffee will burn you if you pour it in your lap, its coffee, its a drink you BOIL to make. Do you even drink coffee? I do, every day of the week.

 

The woman's complaint was idiotic, she should have been laughed out of court, along with the woman mentioned in this article.

[still kicking]

8 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Chili's do not cause that kind of damage. They get nothing.

I eat spicy Vindaloo most days can I be composated as well

[ourmanflint]

14 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Chili's do not cause that kind of damage. They get nothing.

True, Capsaicin can't burn you. it can't burn or damage soft tissue, it just tricks your brain into thinking it has

[Fairynuff]

On 10/24/2024 at 11:37 AM, Sigmund said:

She is right as most restaurants do not even bother to ask the foreigner if they want it very spicy or not to spicy. Depending on their mood of the day, even if you ask, they answer just with the usual "No can Do". Happens all the time in Hua Hin restaurants.

Never had those words spoken to me in a Hua Hin restaurant. I don’t wait to be asked I just tell them phet meean khun Thai along with mai waan and I get the food I want. 

[fire2rescue99]

I have a lot to contribute, but then I would be shredded to pieces. I will say this is an entertaining thread. Keep it up.

[flyingfox1]

I guess the dragon wasn’t happy either 😂 

[sqwakvfr]

16 hours ago, connda said:

It's California.  The claimant always wins as Lefties always blame their own lack of insight on others.

"Let's sue McDonlds because their "Hot Coffee" is actually hot and there aren't 10 signs on all the doors, windows, and cup stating that "Hot Coffee Is Hot."  

"Sue the restaurant!!! Grrrrr."

This could be challenging to prevail in court as far as I know no quantifiable standard where "spicy food is not safe to consume".  My guess is any defense attorney can find others who consumed the same dish without being injured.  Also, is this "injury" now delibitating or permanent?   

[AdmiralKrag]

California... Ground zero frivolous lawsuits

 

Dragon balls?? WTF is this anyway?

 

Doesn't eat spicy food, but ordered a spicy dish named Dragon Balls just the same.

 

It's this triggered, entitled, feminist mindset... another reason so happy to be here and not there

[AdmiralKrag]

21 hours ago, Reddavy said:

Photo and name gives it away. Immigrant more like. True yank would of sued for millions. 🤷🏼

 

Nah, us white peepole would have eaten it, enjoyed the side dish and then moved on to spicier foods.

[Luuk Chaai]

On 10/25/2024 at 12:52 PM, Purdey said:

The restaurant just needs to label things.

This spicy food is... spicy

This coffee is hot.

This barstool is high.

This beer is alcoholic.

This chair certified for weight below 150lb

Do not push this door open quickly enough to break someone's nose. Management accepts no responsibility.

 

really stupid people should just stay home and eat bologna and white bread

[Advocate]

Bogus lawsuit. She is probably making money from social media from this issue.

 

It will be interesting to see if a US court allows the case to proceed because if the jurisdiction of US law is accepted for this case it opens up US companies to a sh!tstorm of similar lawsuits by entities outside the USA.

[degrub]

26 minutes ago, Advocate said:

Bogus lawsuit. She is probably making money from social media from this issue.

 

It will be interesting to see if a US court allows the case to proceed because if the jurisdiction of US law is accepted for this case it opens up US companies to a sh!tstorm of similar lawsuits by entities outside the USA.

This was in California , not outside of the US. Read the OP, please.