IIRC, third degree burns means charred flesh.
I find the idea that hot oil, even fresh in the fryer itself would deliver third degree burns.
You find the idea what?
Hot oil is a great source of 3rd degree burns.
I doubt she burned herself on hot oil. The poppers wouldn’t have been filled with hot oil - it was most likely the hot molten cheese that burned her.
Yes, they’re deep-fried in oil, but then they’re drained for a few minutes. She probably bit into one and had the melted cheese spurt out and burn her.
Actually, I reread the article and part of her complaint is that the oil wasn’t drained from the poppers. Had missed that the first time I read it.
“They are suing Pizza Hut for at least $25,000 each.”
Plus, she’ll probably want that for each chin.
What TellMeI’mNotCrazy said.
And really, isn’t this the point? Poppers should be served drained of oil. Were they? If she was badly burned perhaps it’s because they weren’t. You doubt it? Do you know? That’s why there’s a lawsuit, something went wrong in this case.
Brilliant!
By the way, what exactly does “permanently impaired” mean with respect to a chin? I thought an impairment was when something didn’t function correctly, like hearing or eyesight. What does a chin stop doing after it’s been burnt?
Here’s an expanded article which clears up some of the above speculation. Looks like a second-degree burn.
<insert baseball reference “balls to the chin” joke here>
Who else can picture Jackie Chiles as the lawyer?
err hard to believe
It never seemed to have the effect on raw flesh / meat. I mean, it cooked the meat very well, but as far as charring, never seen it from a fryer. Perhaps if the grease were one of the kinds that’re used at temps above 350F - 375F. But, I’ve never seen meat exposed to that kind in a deep fryer.
Maybe I have a misunderstanding about what constitutes charred flesh? Doesn’t that mean the blackened, carbonized stuff or even the ashy white stuff?
Draining the poppers’d only get rid of the grease on the outside. If the grease on the outside of the popper was hot enough to burn her chin, it would have burned her fingers. I suppose she may have eaten it w/ a fork.
If there was grease caught on the inside of the popper, which seems to be not too terribly outlandish of proposition, draining it the normal way wouldn’t’ve necessarily removed the internal grease.
Scratch the fork idea:
Hassanin, the suit says, ‘‘observed that the Poppers were** warm to the touch**.’’
‘‘When I picked them up from my plate and they felt warm, nice,’’ she said. ‘‘When I bit, the hot cheese squirted out. I had a big piece of cheese stuck on my chin.’’
Of course the restaurant bears some responsibility because they were the ones who cooked and served the food, but I don’t think that negligence on their part for a failure to drain is legitimate.
I refuse to get into this other than to post that frying oil has to be in a fairly narrow temp range to fry properly. Below about 325F and the food gets oil soaked. Above about 375 (varies with type of oil used) the oil smokes, and the food won’t cook properly. Hell get about 400 and there is a danger of fire with some oils.
So how can the oil be ‘‘excessively hot’’ ? 
Note to this couple’s lawyer, don’t allow anybody that knows about cooking on the jury.
Don’t you even take the bones out?
Easy: if it’s inside the popper, then it’s insulated. It’s not excessively hot for frying things in; it’s excessively hot for being served at the table.
Daniel
Still have to wear the Sean Hannity mask?
I noticed the second article said she had never had poppers before. Now, I haven’t eaten poppers (I loathe jalepenos), but any “stuffed” type food, like hot pockets, cheese sticks, pop tarts, etc, tend to keep heat in waaaay longer than the outside cools. My solution is usually to cut it in half, to allow the inside to cool.
It sounds like she was injured pretty bad, but it also sounds like an accident, and not Pizza Hut’s fault.
Well-there’s the rub. You’ve applied common sense to the situation as well as admitting that accidents happen. We can’t have that sort of thing in today’s courtroom-muddies up the argument, you see?
You are describing part of the appearance of common 4th degree burns, not a 3rd degree burn.
A third-degree burn is a full thickness burn. This type of burn destroys the outer layer of skin (epidermis) and the entire layer beneath (or dermis). Scalding liquids are the most common causes of 3rd degree burns. 155 degree (Fahrenheit) water can cause a 3rd degree burn in 1 to 2 seconds. So imagine what damage oil over 200 degrees could do.
A fourth degree burn is like a 3rd degree save it penetrates beyond the skin to destroy muscles, tendons, and blood vessels, or anything else in its way. It usually requires prolonged exposure to flame, or a severe electrical burn, so some charring will probably be present.