New Jersey man sues Dunkin’ Donuts for coffee burns – a reference to famous case from the 90s

He has reason to file a lawsuit.

An elderly New Jersey man is suing Dunkin’ Donuts because a cup of hot coffee was spilled on his lap, causing second-degree burns – a parallel to a high-profile McDonald’s case from the 1990s.

Cosimo Nistico, 74, of Toms River said the lid on his black coffee popped off when an employee handed it to him at a drive-thru counter on April 27, causing the drink to burn his inner left thigh, the lawsuit states.

“I was scared to death,” he told the Post. “I went to wipe my leg and my skin started peeling off.”

“My private parts are almost burned,” he said. “Not a single person came to help me. It was nonsense.”

Nistico was taken to a hospital where he was treated for “serious and significant injuries” that caused him “great pain and suffering,” according to the lawsuit filed June 6 in New Jersey Supreme Court.

His injuries are similar to those of 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, who caused a media frenzy in 1994 when she sued McDonald’s for coffee burns and won a lot of money.

Although the case was cited at the time as an example of a frivolous lawsuit and satirized everywhere from “Seinfeld” to talk radio, Liebeck suffered third-degree burns to 16 percent of her body, including her inner thighs and genitals, according to the American Museum of Tort Law.

A jury awarded Liebeck, of New Mexico, $160,000 in compensatory damages and initially demanded $2.7 million in punitive damages from McDonald’s. But the judge ultimately reduced the amount to $480,000.

McDonald’s had printed warnings on the coffee cups, but their lawyer argued that the cups should indicate how hot the drinks were – namely between 80 and 85 degrees.

Nistico knows that similar incidents have occurred in the past. He called on Dunkin’ Donuts to print a larger warning on the cups and repair the lids.

“They should have put up a bigger warning sign because it’s very hot,” he said. “Steam was coming out of my (car) seat. It was that hot.”

“You should find out why that lid pops off,” he said. “I don’t want that to happen to anyone again.”

Nistico said his burn has since healed, but he was in pain for weeks.

“I was afraid to open the bandage – it was ugly,” he said. “Every night I had to sleep with a pillow between my legs.”

He did not want to say how much compensation should be paid, but said that in addition to the medical bills, “the psychological part is already hard enough.”

In 2014, New Jersey resident Jennifer Fragoso sued Dunkin’ Donuts for burns she said were caused by hot apple cider—and won $2.4 million.

Fragoso, who suffered burns to her thighs, also claimed that the lid of the cup was not properly attached.

According to ABC News, a spokeswoman for the company said at the time that Dunkin’ Donuts’ hot beverage cups had a warning label on them that read, “CAUTION: THIS DRINK IS EXTREMELY HOT.”

A Georgia woman also recovered $3 million from the company in 2021 after allegedly burning herself with hot coffee.

Dunkin’ Donuts did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on Wednesday.