Dunkin Donuts Sued: Sugar in Diabetic's Coffee

Move over, McDonald's. There's a Dunkin' Donuts coffee lawsuit in town, and it has nothing to do with heat.

Danielle Jordan of Philadelphia is suing the company for unspecified damages, claiming that after one of its employees served her sugar-laden coffee instead of the requested artificial sweetener, she went into diabetic shock.

This one already seems like a long shot.

In June 2009, Danielle Jordan claims that she went into a Philadelphia Dunkin' Donuts and requested that they douse her coffee with artificial sweetener, as she suffers from diabetes, reports Reuters.

While downing her drink, the Philadelphia Daily News reports that she became dizzy, light-headed and numb, necessitating a trip to the hospital. She had gone into diabetic shock.

And so began the Dunkin' Donuts coffee lawsuit.

Jordan blames the company, and believes that the incident was the result of a sugar mix-up. And now she wants money for what her lawyer calls "a loss of life's enjoyment."

In tort actions, it's generally the duty of the plaintiff to demonstrate that the defendant is responsible by "a preponderance of the evidence." There are a lot of evidentiary problems that indicate that Danielle Jordan may not be able to do so.

For one, did she keep the coffee for testing?

And if she did, how will she prove that a tablespoon or two of sugar caused such a reaction and that it wasn't something she had eaten earlier in the day? She also fell ill while drinking the coffee, so had the sugar even been digested? Did she have her Diabetes under control?

The questions go on and on, which doesn't bode well for Danielle Jordan and her Dunkin' Donuts coffee lawsuit.

Related Resources:

• Pa. Woman's Lawsuit Claims Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Too Sweet (Associated Press)
• Burden of proof (FindLaw)
• Disney Nacho Lawsuit: Boy Burned by Cheese (FindLaw's Injured)