Jack in the Box Burn Injury Lawsuits: a Harris County Coffee Suit, Franchise Owners, and How to Sue (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a Jack in the Box burn

1. Cool a minor burn under cool running water, not ice water, for 5 to 30 minutes, and do not pull off clothing stuck to the skin. Call 911 if the burn is about the size of your palm or larger or looks full-thickness (MedlinePlus).
2. Get burn center care for deep burns. The American Burn Association recommends immediate burn center consultation for deep partial-thickness or full-thickness burns of the hands, feet, face, genitals, perineum or a joint, and for partial-thickness burns of 10% or more of the body (ABA referral guidelines).
3. Keep the cup, lid, bag and food container, even if empty.
4. Save the receipt or app order showing the restaurant and time.
5. Note which window you used (drive-thru, walk-up or pickup) and whether you were picking up for a delivery app.
6. Photograph the burn each morning as it changes, and keep the discharge papers from urgent care or the ER.
7. Have a lawyer send the franchisee an evidence preservation letter within days so it keeps the footage from that window. Our after-a-burn checklist covers the rest.

Beverly Law is not affiliated with Jack in the Box.

Where Jack in the Box restaurants are

Jack in the Box is headquartered in San Diego and says about 70% of its systemwide restaurants are in California and Texas. Its fiscal 2025 annual report gives these counts (Jack in the Box Form 10-K):

The same report says the company is self-insured for a portion of its losses related to workers’ compensation, general liability and other legal claims.

What is hot at Jack in the Box

The company’s 10-K lists burgers such as the Jumbo Jack, breakfast sandwiches, tacos, curly fries and egg rolls, served across “five true day parts: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and late night.” Its current prototype, about 1,372 square feet, supports a Y-Lane drive-thru, a walk-up ordering window and a dedicated pickup window for mobile and third-party delivery orders.

Jack in the Box’s annual report gives no coffee temperature, and we found none from the company elsewhere. The American Burn Association’s scald guide, citing studies by Moritz and Henriques, gives these times for a third-degree burn (ABA scald guide):

Reported burn incidents involving Jack in the Box

Criminal charge over coffee allegedly thrown at a San Mateo manager (October 2026). FOX and KTVU reported on Oct. 28, 2026, citing a press memo from the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, that a man is charged with throwing coffee at the manager of a Jack in the Box in San Mateo, California, on Thursday, Oct. 22. The DA’s office says he had been asked to leave and allegedly threw the coffee into her face and neck as she walked him out. It estimated the coffee at “a near-boiling 200 degrees” and said her face was already blistering when first responders arrived. According to the DA’s office, police arrested him the next day after spotting him on security video (FOX 4 / KTVU). He has pleaded not guilty, and the charges remain allegations unless proven in court. The report mentions no civil suit.

Altaf Abro’s suit (Harris County, Texas, reported October 2013). Altaf Abro sued Jack in the Box in Harris County district court, saying hot coffee spilled in his groin area while he was in line at a Jack in the Box in South Houston and that he needed hospital treatment. He claimed physical impairment, pain and mental anguish, blamed a Jack in the Box employee, and sought $75,000. Jack in the Box had no comment (San Diego Reader). We found no reported outcome.

We found no other reported customer burn suit against Jack in the Box in California or Texas in the sources we reviewed.

What OSHA’s data shows. Federal OSHA’s severe injury data for January 2015 through November 2025 has no burn report naming Jack in the Box as the employer. The closest is a slip: on April 19, 2021, an employee at Jack in the Box #3863 in Fort Worth slipped in front of a fryer station and broke a femur. Because the file is limited to federal OSHA jurisdiction, restaurants in California and Washington, states with their own State Plans, are missing from it (OSHA Severe Injury Reports; OSHA State Plans).

Who answers for a burn at a franchised Jack in the Box

After a March 2021 dispute over missing curly fries at a Houston drive-thru, a couple sued the worker, Jack in the Box Inc. and franchisee A3H Foods General Partner LLC in Harris County. Their co-counsel said, “What’s important in these kinds of cases is the control the corporate parent has over the local franchise” (Courthouse News). WAFF, carrying an Associated Press report, said Jack in the Box’s original answer “denied all allegations” and disclaimed control over or legal responsibility for the worker (WAFF).

In California, Patterson v. Domino’s Pizza asks whether the franchisor kept or assumed a general right to control the franchisee’s employees in their daily work (Patterson v. Domino’s Pizza, 2014). If corporate wrote the cup, lid or fryer procedures the crew followed, ask for them. At the 150 company-operated restaurants, Jack in the Box is itself the operator.

Burned while working at Jack in the Box

Workers’ comp covers the job injury, and a separate claim can run against an outsider who caused it, as in the San Mateo case, where a man is charged.

• California: a comp claim does not affect the worker’s right to sue anyone other than the employer for all damages caused by the injury (Labor Code § 3852). A customer who throws a drink, or the maker of a fryer that failed, can be that other party.
• Texas: with 526 franchised Texas restaurants, the first thing to learn is whether your franchisee carried comp. If it did, comp is your only remedy against that employer, except that a surviving spouse or children can seek exemplary damages for a death caused by the employer’s gross negligence or intentional act (Labor Code § 408.001). If it did not, you can sue it for negligence, and it cannot defend by blaming you or claiming you assumed the risk (§ 406.033). Either way, a claim against a third party who is liable for the injury, such as a customer who threw a drink, remains available (§ 417.001).

More in can I sue for a burn at work.

Minors and fault rules in California and Texas

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Burn injury lawyer · Drive-thru burns · Chick-fil-A burns · McDonald’s burns · Dunkin’ burns · California burn injuries · Texas burn injuries

Talk to a burn injury lawyer

If you were burned at a Jack in the Box window, in the dining room or on the job, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959; there is no charge to talk, the call is confidential, and our staff speaks Spanish. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

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Burn Injury Lawyer

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.