QuikTrip Ordered to Pay $1.5M in Damages

BUFORD, Ga. -- QuikTrip, headquartered in Cobb County, was ordered by a jury to pay a Buford woman $1.2 million in damages. The lawsuit stemmed from burn injuries the woman suffered from a cappuccino machine at the QuikTrip convenience store in 2007, Gwinnett Daily Post reported.

Cynthia Nance, 52, lawsuit claimed she was scalded Halloween night 2007 at a store in Jackson County when 190-degree water shot from the coffee machine because a part had been removed for cleaning. Nance was burned on her hand and arm as she held a cup below the nozzle, her attorney, Nelson Tyrone III told the news outlet.

Tyrone said his client now suffers from a permanent nerve disorder called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy syndrome and could suffer lifelong repercussions. The suit was heard in Cobb State Court because QuikTrip is headquartered in that county, a representative of Tyrone’s firm said.

“I believe that QuikTrip never understood the severity of Nance’s condition until the trial,” he told the news outlet. According to Tyrone the settlement will allow his client treatment “by the best doctors in the United States who are working with patients with her condition.”

The Gwinnett Daily Post added that Nance must receive regular nerve treatment, take narcotic pain medication and could require an electronic implant to correct nerve damage caused by the burning, her attorney stated.