Florida woman claims Alabama McDonald’s put chemicals in her coffee

DOTHAN, Ala (WFLA) — A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against a McDonald’s in Alabama after alleging she was served “chemicals in a cup.”

Sherry Head of DeFuniak Springs, was in the McDonald’s drive-thru in December 2021 and ordered a coffee.

Head said she heard one employee through the drive-thru speaker say her coffee was unavailable because the machine was being cleaned, WFLA reported. Another employee immediately said, “No, it’s ready to go.”

The lawsuit alleges that she automatically knew something was wrong after tasting the drink. She went back through the drive-thru and asked for help from the staff. 

The manager at the window said, “It’s fine.”

Head called emergency services, and McDonald’s employees did not help once again when first responders arrived. The employees refused to show first responders the bottle of chemicals that had been used to clean the coffee machine.

Heads complaint states:

“For nearly a decade, McDonald’s has been promising to improve safety standards to prevent its customers from being poisoned by chemical cleaning solutions; and for nearly a decade, McDonald’s has failed to do so . . . it is time for McDonald’s to change its ways.”

The lawsuit filed in Houston County Court demands $3 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, according to WFLA. 

Head has been diagnosed with scarring and narrowing of her throat, difficulty swallowing, chronic gastritis, acid reflux, and abdominal pain caused by inflammation and erosion of the stomach, her doctors said. She may need surgery in the future to repair the damage done to her throat and preserve her ability to swallow.

This is not the first reported incident against the fast food franchise for alleged chemicals in their beverages.