Family to sue Applebee’s after baby burned by steaming water at Queens location
ROSEDALE, Queens — A family plans to sue Applebee’s after their 17-month-old baby was severely burned by steaming water at a Queens location of the restaurant.
Cadien Scott Gaffney suffered 2nd degree burns in the Friday incident, according to Kourtnei Patterson, a spokesperson for the family. The family had requested hot water to sterilize utensils. After a server brought it to the table, the baby was able to pull the hot water onto himself.
“The baby was just screaming,” Patterson said.
His mother tried to take the smoking clothing off of him, but skin came away, Patterson said.
“This is a family restaurant. They should have known better,” Sanford Rubenstein, the family’s attorney, said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
A spokesperson from the Applebee’s franchisee sent PIX11 the following statement:
“We are truly saddened by this accident and our thoughts are with the child and family. After a thorough investigation and review of security footage and call logs, we are confident that our team members acted with urgency, calling for medical assistance while helping the family. We were unable to obtain the family’s contact information onsite but would like to assist in any way that we can as we continue to cooperate with authorities. As always, the safety of our guests is top priority.”