CBS New York reports that a Queens woman wasn’t feeling so well on Sept. 27 at her local Burger King, so she went to the single-stall restroom and locked the door. Soon after, she suffered a seizure and fell on floor. She couldn’t reach the handle, so her family says she started screaming for help.
“I pulled the handle,” the woman’s boyfriend told the news station. “The handle broke off in my hand.”
He says the lock could only be accessed from inside the restroom, and that while he did everything he could to pry the door open from the outside, it didn’t work. Firefighters arrived on the scene and used an axe to smash open the door.
The woman was taken to the hospital, and later died. Her family says doctors told them she had brain damage from a prolonged lack of oxygen. They believe if they could’ve gotten the door open when she screamed for help, she’d still be alive.
The family’s attorney filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Burger King on their behalf on Thursday, claiming that the lock on the door — now replaced — was antiquated.
“What happens if there’s a fire; if someone’s giving birth — they can’t get to that lock?” he asked. “To me, it’s stupid.”
However, there’s nothing in NYC’s building code that prohibits locks of the sort the Burger King in question had in place, CBS notes.
When Consumerist contacted Burger King about the lawsuit, a spokesperson said the company can’t comment.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the family of [the woman] for their loss. As a matter of policy, the BURGER KING® brand does not comment on any claims involving franchised BURGER KING® restaurants, which are independently owned and operated by BURGER KING® franchisees.”
Family Sues After Woman Gets Trapped In Queens Burger King Restroom, Dies [CBS New York]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist