By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Southwest Airlines was sued on Wednesday by Utah parents who said their 4-year-old son suffered second-degree burns to his buttocks when a careless flight attendant spilled boiling hot coffee on him.
Ryan Wong and Kamrie Wong also accused other flight attendants of being unapologetic for the September 19, 2024, incident and failing to get proper medical help.
Their son, known as K.W. in court papers, is now afraid to fly, they added.
Southwest did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Wongs said they were flying home to Salt Lake City from Orlando, Florida, when a flight attendant carrying a drink tray on one arm extended hot coffee over their son and spilled it.
According to the complaint, the boy shrieked in pain from his burn injuries, screaming “It’s so hot!”
The Wongs said paramedics met them at a layover in Chicago, but that a Southwest gate agent caused more pain by forcibly seating their son on his buttocks. They also said flight attendants on their return to Salt Lake City offered no help.
As a result of the incident, the boy feels shame and embarrassment including at school, has permanent scarring, and has trouble sitting for extended periods, the complaint said.
The lawsuit in Chicago federal court seeks unspecified damages for negligence.
“Airlines need to do better,” the Wongs’ lawyer, Mark Lindquist, said in an email.
Other airlines have also faced lawsuits over spilled coffee.
Last September, for example, a Washington state woman also represented by Lindquist sued Delta Air Lines over alleged injuries when coffee spilled off a slanted tray table and onto her lap. That case remains pending.
The case is Wong et al v Southwest Airlines Co, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 25-04116.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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