A pregnant flight attendant suffered severe burns after a coffee blend exploded and spewed boiling water and grounds on her, according to a recent lawsuit.
On March 27, Alaska Airlines flight attendant Victoria Waldron's attorneys filed a civil complaint against Stumptown Coffee Corp in the Western District of Washington at Seattle.
The lawsuit accused the coffee company of supplying the airline with a defective product that caused Waldron's injuries and failing to warn of potential risks despite many similar accidents with Stumptown's product.
The court filing said that exactly two years ago, on April 1, 2024, Waldron was working on an Alaska Airlines flight bound for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona.
About 30 minutes before landing, the pregnant flight attendant was brewing a custom coffee blend supplied by Stumptown that was designed to be consumed at altitude, the complaint stated.
That is when 'an onboard coffee maker in the aircraft galley suddenly and without warning failed catastrophically, expelling scalding hot coffee, coffee grounds, and boiling water with explosive force,' the lawsuit stated.
'[Waldron] was struck by the expelled hot liquid and grounds, sustaining immediate and severe thermal burns to her chest and other areas of her body,' the complaint continued.
The injuries were extremely painful, and the pregnant flight attendant feared for her unborn child, the filing said before adding that Waldron now has permanent scarring and a persistent 'heat-triggered rash.'
The lawsuit was filed against Stumptown Coffee Corp and accused the company of improperly testing its packaging for use at altitude.
The civil complaint also stated that Waldron will need ongoing dermatological treatment and may have to get cosmetic surgery for the scarring.
In the filing, Waldron's attorneys argued that their client's injuries were preventable because there had been ample signs that Stumptown's coffee blend was defective and prone to exploding.
The coffee company entered an agreement to supply Alaska Airlines with a custom coffee blend in 2023, and they began supplying the product on December 1 of that year, according to the lawsuit.
The negotiations for the deal took place in Seattle, where Alaska Airlines is headquartered, and Stumptown's in-flight products are supplied from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is why the lawsuit was filed in Washington.
The civil complaint said that Stumptown had tested its custom coffee blend for taste at altitude but had not adequately adjusted or tested its packaging design for the low-pressure environment of a plane cabin.
The low-pressure environment, combined with the unique heat cycles of commercial brewing equipment on planes, caused the packaging which had been designed for use at sea level to 'behave in a materially dangerous manner,' the complaint alleged.
The lawsuit claimed that Stumptown was or should have been aware of that problem with its product, as on February 20, 2024, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) published a statement that said at least nine flight attendants had been burned by exploding coffee on board Alaska Airlines flights.
The AFA's statement explicitly mentioned that Stumptown's packaging was the 'suspected' cause of the sudden rise in injuries, as Alaska Airlines had recently begun using the company's blend instead of one produced by Starbucks.
The lawsuit stated that Waldron suffered pain and emotional distress and that she feared for her unborn child.
The lawsuit said that Stumptown's blend's 'packaging type, material, structure, and pressure tolerance differed materially from the prior Starbucks product it replaced.'
By the time the AFA released its statement, it had been less than three months since Alaska Airlines adopted Stumptown's blend.
That means an average of more than three flight attendants had been injured in each month since the deal took effect.
Despite the signs, 'Stumptown took no corrective action, issued no warning to Alaska Airlines, recalled no product, and continued to supply the same packaging to Alaska Airlines without modification,' the civil complaint said.
The lawsuit did not state a specific sum of money it is seeking from Stumptown, though it noted it would exceed $75,000.
Waldron's attorneys will pursue damages for their client's 'physical pain and suffering,' as well as her burns, scars, emotional distress, medical expenses, lost earnings and legal fees.
The complaint demanded a trial by jury. Stumptown has not yet replied to any allegations in court.
Stumptown Coffee Corp declined to comment when the Daily Mail reached out. Waldron's attorneys have also been contacted for comment.