Woman sues Jetblue for allegedly spilling hot tea over her during turbulence

A woman from Connecticut has sued US airline JetBlue for US$1.5 million ($2.5m) after claiming a flight attendant spilled burning tea on her, causing severe burns.

For many travellers, the arrival of the drinks cart is a small highlight during a flight.

However, for one American woman, the drinks service resulted in her suing the US carrier JetBlue for US$1.5 million ($2.5m) for negligence.

Tahjana Lewis was on a flight from Orlando, Florida to Hartford, Connecticut with her 5-year-old daughter on May 15, when the incident allegedly occurred.

Lewis claims the flight attendants started serving passengers hot drinks during a bout of turbulence. During this time, she claimed hot tea was spilled over her lap and chest, resulting in severe burns which she allegedly received no first aid for.

In the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Connecticut in June, Lewis states another passenger asked for a cup of tea during the drinks service. However, the flight attendant accidentally spilled it on to Lewis during turbulence, CBS News reported.

Lewis’ lawsuit claims this resulted in burns on her upper chest, legs, left buttocks, right arm and breasts that involve “disfigurement and scarring” and Jetblue did not provide “reasonably safe travelling conditions”.

The lawsuit argues the temperature of the drinks was unreasonable and higher than food service standards.

It also claims she did not receive adequate care on the flight after the incident, with Lewis’ attorney, Edward Jazlowiecki, telling CBS MoneyWatch the crew did “basically nothing” to stop the pain.

The alleged incident has since caused physical complications that are expensive to treat and painful to deal with, the lawsuit continues.

Lewis said she has since experienced “mental anguish, anxiety and post-traumatic stress” as a result of the events.

Jazlowiecki said airlines were not adequately sensitive to turbulence and how it could impact travellers.

“There’s a lot of turbulence out there and the airlines really don’t care about the comfort of the passengers or their safety,” he said.

The Herald has contacted JetBlue for a response.

If Lewis wins the case, she won’t be the first woman who has gone after a major company following a beverage burn. In 1992, a 79-year-old woman named Stella Liebeck purchased a cup of takeaway coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Albuquerque.

When she spilled it on her lap, causing severe burns, she sued McDonalds and a jury awarded Liebeck almost US$3 million in punitive damages.

Lewis also isn’t the first to sue an airline over a hot drink. In 2023, George Latorre claimed an American Airlines flight attendant spilled ‘scalding coffee’ onto his arm during a flight from Vietnam to New York. The burn allegedly was so severe it damaged a tattoo he had.

In 2017, a 72-year-old named Zahra Azizkhani, 72 sued Qatar Airways for US$850,000 after a flight attendant allegedly spilled a cup of hot coffee on her lap, causing severe burns.