Federal Jury Awards Nearly $6.5 Million Over Infant's Coffee Burns at Omni La Costa

In May 2016, the Deruyver family was staying at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. While the family was seated at one of the resort's restaurants, a server left a pot of hot coffee within reach of their 9-month-old daughter. The infant grabbed the pot and pulled it down, and scalding coffee spilled across her body before anyone could stop it.

The burns were severe. The child suffered third-degree burns, and by the time the case reached trial she had already been through several surgeries. Her doctors expected she would need more operations as she grew older. The injuries left her with permanent scarring and hardened skin that she will carry for the rest of her life. Her parents and two older brothers were present and saw it happen.

The family, who lived in Michigan, sued Omni in federal court. John Gomez of Gomez Trial Attorneys tried the case as lead counsel, joined by co-counsel Jessica Sizemore. The trial took place in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, in San Diego. Omni's lawyers argued that the child's parents and the family's nanny had failed to supervise her. Gomez and his team told the jury a different story: that resort staff created the hazard by setting a pot of hot coffee where an infant could reach it. The claim was one of premises liability, in which a guest, and an especially vulnerable one, was hurt by a condition the hotel's own employees set in motion.

In March 2019, the jury sided with the family. It found Omni negligent and assigned the resort 92.5 percent of the fault, leaving 7.5 percent with the nanny. The jury awarded the child $5.6 million for past and future medical expenses and for pain and suffering, and it awarded her parents and brothers a combined $879,000 for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Together the two awards came to $6,479,000. "We hope that today's verdict causes Omni to take the safety of its guests much more seriously," Gomez said afterward.

The case did not end at the jury's number. Omni appealed the verdict, and the two sides later reached a resolution instead of continuing the fight. A federal judge approved a $5.8 million settlement between the family and the resort, which closed the matter for less than the amount the jury had awarded.