Koddi Dunn and her family were driving home after visiting family in Lawrenceville, Georgia, when they decided to stop for some food. A road trip break for pizza, though, ended in a trip to the hospital for the family.
Dunn picked up a Hot-N-Ready pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars, and handed it to her 15-year-old son Jeremiah, Dunn told 11Alive. Jeremiah took a napkin and a slice of pizza, grabbing another for his nine-year-old brother. As he reached over to hand the slice of pizza to his brother, "hysterical screams stopped the family in their tracks," 11Alive reports.
As Jeremiah reached over his two-year-old sister, Jordyn, scalding hot pizza sauce and cheese landed on her right hand and leg. She was burned so badly, Dunn had to take her to the hospital, she says.
Dunn told 11Alive, "I have never heard such a sound come from a child." The family pulled the car over, and grabbed Jordyn from her car seat. "It took all of 30 seconds. In that small amount of time, she continued to cry uncontrollably and said, 'Mommy my hand!'"
An hour later, a doctor at Gwinnett Medical Center told the family that Jordyn had second-degree burns, which had already started to blister, her mother says. When they left the hospital after Jordyn received medical treatment, Dunn tells 11Alive that the family went right back to the Little Caesars store to speak with a manager.
The manager on duty told the family that Hot-N-Ready pizzas are typically held at 165 degrees when they're handed to customers, but since the location was especially busy that night, the pizzas were coming straight from the oven—piping hot at nearly 500 degrees, 11Alive notes. The mother says she was never warned, though.
The Dunn family was particularly upset with how the complaint was handled, 11Alive reports, because the manager allegedly told them that he'd "take down their complaint, but that upper management would probably not respond and nothing would come of of it."
Dunn reportedly did receive a voicemail from Little Caesars corporate office, letting the family know that they were aware of the situation. The family told 11Alive that they're looking for a lawyer and plan to take legal action. "A $5 box of pizza should NEVER end with a trip to the ER," the mother told the news station.
Tina Orozco, director of communications at Little Caesars, told Delish in an email, " The safety of our customers and employees is our highest priority. We are aware of this unfortunate incident. Our hearts go out to Jordyn and her family and we wish her a speedy recovery. We are continuing to work with the customer and the franchisee of this store." In addition, the statement noted that Little Caesars believes (at this time) that all procedures were followed. "As a precaution, we have a warning label on our pizza boxes," Orozco says. "Our customers expect to receive fresh, hot pizza out of the oven."
We wish Jordyn a speedy recovery, as well. Everyone be cautious when eating hot foods!
