A New York woman has filed a lawsuit against McDonald's, alleging that "extremely hot and overheated" French fries served at a Midtown East location on March 5 caused her to sustain serious injuries.
The plaintiff, Catherine Luongo, claims the fries burned the inside of her mouth and resulted in significant physical pain and mental anguish. According to court filings, her injuries were potentially "permanent and lasting" and left her bed-ridden.
Luongo's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, states that the fast-food chain was careless in serving the fries and failed to provide an adequate warning about the potential risks. She is seeking unspecified damages.
This incident echoes a landmark 1994 case where Stella Liebeck sued McDonald's after suffering third-degree burns from coffee that spilled on her. That case, Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, led to McDonald's lowering its coffee serving temperature and adding warning labels.
More recently, in 2023, a Massachusetts mother sued McDonald's after her toddler allegedly suffered first- and second-degree burns from "unreasonably and dangerously hot fries," which reportedly required surgery and left the child scarred.
Luongo has a history of litigation. Court records indicate she previously sued Walmart in 2025 and Panera in 2018. Her lawsuit against Panera, concerning an incident where she claimed a worker accidentally hit her hand with a chair, resulted in a $150,000 settlement. Her ongoing case against Walmart involves an allegation that a shopping cart with an attached metal pole struck her in a parking lot. She initially sought $1 million in damages in that case, which has since been moved to federal court, though no settlement has been reached as of July 9.
McDonald's and Walmart have not responded to requests for comment. Luongo's attorney declined to comment on the current lawsuit.