A spicy legal scandal broke out in the USA: an American woman filed a lawsuit against the popular Thai restaurant Coup de Thai. The woman claimed that the spicy dish, known as “dragon balls”, caused her severe internal burns. This was reported by The Thaiger portal.
According to Harjaslin Valia’s statement submitted to the court, she visited the establishment located in San Jose (California) on July 15, 2021, and ordered a unique spicy meat dish there, which looks like meatballs familiar to Ukrainians. But, unfortunately, this choice turned out to be disastrous for her health. The tourist claimed that after consuming the “dragon balls” she suffered from acute intolerance and suffered severe internal burns.
According to Valia, she immediately felt a fiery hell in her mouth, tongue, throat, and nose and began to cough. This unpleasant condition caused serious health problems that lasted at least two years.
“Dragon Balls” food is unfit for human consumption. It is dangerous for life,” the victim said, and her lawyer pointed out that the restaurant did not warn customers about the possible dangerous consequences of the spiciness of the dish and did not offer a milder alternative, despite the tourist’s request. “Spicy foods contain a substance from chili peppers called capsaicin. The capsaicin burns the taste buds and the milk binds to the hot capsaicin oils to disperse them. Cold water is ineffective in softening the sharpness. With no alternative, the plaintiff drank an entire glass of coconut water, but the burning did not subside. As a direct and immediate result of consuming this food, the plaintiff began to lose her voice,” attorney Mark Zanobini wrote in the lawsuit.
At the same time, it was clarified that the woman came to a restaurant that specializes in spicy Thai cuisine and attracts gourmets who are looking for only spicy sensations. Their slogan-promise to visitors is “A real revolution of your senses”. On the official website, the following is stated in the description of the dishes: “From our traditional menu, fireworks appear in the mouth, which return the real “Thai” taste to Thai cuisine.” At the same time, the menu featured an image of a dish with red pepper. According to the official price list of the Coup de Thai restaurant, “dragon balls” cost Americans $11.
According to the plaintiff, despite all the warnings, she did not expect such a reaction of her body to the dish, and the restaurant should bear responsibility for the injuries that occurred to her – chemical burns of the vocal cords, the middle concha of the right nostril, and the esophagus. She also claimed that staff were ill-prepared for the emergency.
In response to the claim, the management of the famous restaurant replied: “We don’t use too much chili spice in the dragon balls.” In addition, the institution’s management added that there had never been complaints about such health problems from visitors before.
The trial continues, and the case will be considered on December 5. Until then, the American is seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings and legal costs related to this unpleasant incident.