Barbecue chain ordered to pay $2.8 million to woman burned by sauce

SAN ANTONIO – The Dallas Morning News reports that a Texas jury has ordered a barbecue restaurant to pay $2.8 million to a woman who was badly burned by its barbecue sauce. The woman, 19-year-old Genesis Monita, sued Bill Miller Bar-B-Q in San Antonio after spilling sauce on her right leg, resulting in second-degree burns. The incident unfolded in May 2023, after Monita ordered breakfast tacos with barbecue sauce from the drive-through. She then pulled into a nearby parking spot to eat, according to the lawsuit. When she removed the sauce from the brown paper bag, Monita dropped it on her leg because it was so hot. Bill Miller B-B-Q’s policy says sauce should be heated to a minimum of 165 degree. That day, the sauce was 189 degrees. Monita’s attorney Lawrence Morales II said the restaurant should have warned her about the temperature of the sauce, and placed it in an adequate styrofoam container rather than plastic, and provided better training to employees.