Tim Hortons Burn Injury Lawsuits: Four Reported Hot Drink Suits, and How to Sue (Updated November 2026)

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

What to do after a Tim Hortons 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. Keep the cup and lid, even if crushed, and the tray if the drink came on one.
3. Save the receipt or app order showing the store and time.
4. Photograph the burn every day, and the clothing you wore.
5. Write down the names of witnesses and of anyone in the car with you.
6. Have a lawyer send the franchisee an evidence preservation letter within days so it keeps the drive-thru video. Our after-a-burn checklist covers the rest.

Beverly Law is not affiliated with Tim Hortons.

Where Tim Hortons operates

Tim Hortons, founded in 1964, is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI). RBI’s annual report for 2025 calls it the largest coffee and baked goods restaurant chain in Canada by number of restaurants, serving “a variety of hot and cold specialty beverages.” It counted 6,232 Tim Hortons restaurants worldwide on December 31, 2025, 4,586 of them in the U.S. and Canada, and said more than 95% of RBI’s system-wide restaurants were franchised (RBI Form 10-K). CNBC reported more than 600 U.S. locations in February 2022 (CNBC via NBC Connecticut).

On November 5, 2026, the U.S. locations directory listed stores in 16 states: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, and none in California or Washington (Tim Hortons locations). Its Texas page lists nine cities: Austin, Bryan, Cedar Park, Houston, Humble, Katy, Richmond, San Antonio and Stafford, most in the Houston area (Tim Hortons Texas).

The first Houston-area store opened in Katy in August 2022 with a two-lane drive-thru; CultureMap Houston reported that the store came from a partnership between Tim Hortons and Houston’s CSM Group, whose CEO had said it planned 30 area locations, and that its drinks ranged from hot or iced coffee to teas (CultureMap Houston). The first Austin-area store, on RM 620 at the Austin and Round Rock border, opened December 21, 2024, with a drive-thru serving coffee drinks and tea (Community Impact).

Reported burn lawsuits involving Tim Hortons stores

Each case below is what a lawsuit alleged, as reported by the outlet cited. None was a verdict or court finding, and we found no reported outcome for any of them.

Lynn Lacey, Southgate (filed January 2018). Lacey was a passenger at the Fort Street drive-thru on October 7, 2017, and ordered an extra-large tea. Her suit alleges part of the cup’s upper rim was “mashed down” and that as the cup was passed to her, the “lid popped off and fell to the floor pouring hot tea out from the cup onto the front of plaintiff’s body.” The report says she suffered first- and second-degree burns to her left thigh, lower abdomen and left thumb (WDIV ClickOnDetroit).

Dusty Jackson, Southgate (reported November 2021). Jackson sued, claiming a 16-year-old employee threw coffee in her face through the drive-thru window on October 30, 2021, after a dispute, causing minor burns. WWJ reported that Tim Hortons had no comment on pending litigation but was looking into it with the franchisee (WWJ Newsradio).

Susan Niganobe, Blind River (filed August 2022). Niganobe, 71 when she filed, says that on June 24, 2021, an employee at the drive-thru passed her a medium coffee on a tray with the lid not secured, and it spilled on her inner thighs and caused a serious burn. She seeks $850,000 from the local franchisee, a numbered company, and Amir Ladha Properties Inc. Tim Hortons’ head office declined to comment because the matter was before the courts (SooToday via OrilliaMatters). In its statement of defence in the Superior Court of Justice, the operator wrote that it “denies that they were negligent,” blamed the way she handled the cup or “a pre-existing condition,” and called the damages “excessive, exaggerated and too remote.” No trial date was set as of February 2024 (SooToday).

Jackie Lansing, Huntsville (reported March 2023). Lansing, 73, says she ordered a 14-ounce hot black tea at a Huntsville drive-thru on May 18, 2022, and it was handed over “superheated” in a single cup that collapsed. She alleges second-degree burns to her stomach, genitals and legs, and she and her family seek $500,000. A defence filed for TDL Group Corp., which CTV described as Tim Hortons’ licensing company, and Greenwood Enterprises Inc., the franchise operator, denies negligence and calls her “the author of her own misfortune,” saying she was distracted by her phone. Tim Hortons told CTV it could not say more while the matter was before the courts (CTV News Toronto).

The Ontario cases follow Ontario law. We found no Tim Hortons serving temperature in our sources. The American Burn Association’s table shows a third-degree burn in adult skin in about 1 second at 155°F and 5 seconds at 140°F (ABA scald guide).

Who you would sue in Texas

In the three reports that identify the parties, the store operator was named or consulted, and in Ontario the claims also reached a property company and the brand’s licensing company. In Texas the starting point is the franchisee, because its crew filled, lidded and handed over the cup. A company that does not run the store generally owes a duty in Texas only if it had the right to control the specific activity that caused the injury (Exxon Corp. v. Tidwell). When a cup collapses or a rim is crushed, the cup maker can be added on a product liability claim, as our page on defective product burns explains.

Texas fault and damages rules

The 51% bar is why the Ontario defenses matter here: arguments that a customer was on a phone or mishandled the cup aim to shift fault, and in Texas a finding above 50% ends the claim. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Our Texas burn injury page has the state rules.

Burn care near Texas Tim Hortons stores

The ABA lists UTMB’s Blocker Burn Unit and Shriners Hospitals for Children – Texas, both in Galveston, as verified burn centers, the nearest to Houston (UTMB; Shriners Children’s Texas; ABA directory). The John S. Dunn Burn Center at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston is listed by the ABA as another burn center (Memorial Hermann). In San Antonio, the USAISR Burn Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is ABA-verified (USAISR). In Austin, Dell Seton Medical Center is listed by the ABA as another burn center. See our Houston and San Antonio pages.

Related pages

Burn injury lawyer · Drive-thru burns · Dunkin’ burns · Starbucks burns

Talk to a burn injury lawyer

If a Tim Hortons drink burned you or your child in Texas, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free, confidential review in English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

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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.