SASKATOON -- After a hot coffee spill sent her baby to the emergency room, a mom says nearly a year after the incident she’s still waiting for an apology from the Saskatoon McDonald’s where it happened.
“She still has scars on her feet. On her back, she did have a fair bit of blistering. But obviously she’s growing and doing well,” Yvonne Pihach said, talking about her daughter’s injuries.
In December of 2018, according to Pihach, two cups of hot coffee tipped over when an employee at the Walmart McDonald’s in Stonebridge brought a tray of food out.
The hot coffee spilled on Pihach, and more concerning, on her 11-month-old daughter Noell, soaking the baby’s snowsuit in the process.
Pihach ripped off her daughter’s snowsuit and clothes. Other customers began offering cold napkins and ice.
“Definitely (it was) very stressful. You don’t really know the severity of what happened. Is she going to be okay?”
The employee who spilled the coffee initially promised to bring a cloth, but returned only with a mop and started cleaning the floor, Pihach said.
“I did go the front counter and asked the cashier for a cold cloth for her feet, she turned to the manager who was playing on her phone and the manager shook her head no.”
Painful recovery
After rushing Noell to the emergency room, a doctor told Pihach her daughter had second-degree burns on her feet.
“She was in a lot of pain, it was uncomfortable whenever anything touched her feet. Which is unfortunate because she was just starting to walk.”
The mother of three said she had to carry her injured daughter around for a month after the incident and it was hard for Noell to sleep.
“It was painful if you laid her down and the blankets were touching her feet, she wouldn’t go to sleep.”
Pihach said she contacted McDonald's and spoke with a regional manager and the owner of the franchise.
She asked for a formal apology and because Pihach was troubled by how employees responded wants staff trained in first aid.
Pihach said she also asked to be compensated for the cost of a new snowsuit, something she was assured would happen during one of her conversations.
“I was on maternity leave, to be honest, I didn’t have the money at the time to go buy a new snowsuit, that was my diaper money.”
Now almost a year later, Pihach said she still hasn’t been reimbursed or received a formal apology.
“They got my money and they burned my daughter and it doesn’t really matter.”
In a statement to CTV News, the owner of the franchise, Raj Baines, said he only recently learned the issue remained unresolved.
“I've invited her to follow up with me, and I'm looking forward to connecting further so I can ensure this is properly resolved,” Baines said in the statement.
Lack of apology not surprising: lawyer
A lawyer in Saskatoon specializing in criminal law and civil litigation said he isn't surprised McDonald’s has yet to provide a formal apology to Pihach.
“Generally if a client is in a situation where a lawsuit is threatened or a possibility of legal liability, any lawyer will tell his client to not make statements out of court that could be used as evidence,” Andrew Mason said, speaking generally about situations like Pihach’s.
When it comes to apologies, insurance companies are also a consideration, Mason said.
“You can’t go out an admit liability and expect the insurer to be happy about having to cover that.”
Pihach said she is open to further discussions with the owner but until her key concerns are addressed the matter will remain unresolved.
Edited by Digital News Editor Josh Lynn
