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Parents say Little Caesars pizza left 2-year-old with second-degree burns

Posted at 9:50 PM, Oct 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-15 21:50:58-04

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – A Georgia couple says a trip to Little Caesars left their 2-year-old daughter screaming in pain after scalding-hot cheese and sauce fell onto the child’s hand and leg Friday evening.

The girl’s mother, Koddi Dunn, of Cornelia, told WXIA they were on their way home from visiting with her husband’s mother when they decided to stop at a Little Caesars in Lawrenceville they often went to.

The Dunns said it was packed around 8:30, but they waited and eventually got their pie. They started eating in the car on the way home, but Dunn said she had no idea the pizza inside was not the temperature they were used to.

“We had no idea that it was basically lava inside that pizza box,” Dunn said.

When her 15-year-old son tried to pass a slice to his 9-year-old brother, Dunn said burning liquid dripped onto 2-year-old Jordyn’s right hand and leg.

“My daughter [was] screaming like you’ve never heard before,” Dunn said.

The Georgia parents rushed her to a local hospital for treatment, where doctors said she had second-degree burns. Photos Dunn posted to social media show large blisters on Jordyn’s skin.

The Dunns said they went back to the Little Caesars and a manager told them that the restaurant was so busy that night that workers gave them a Hot-N-Ready pie straight out of the oven.

“Why would they put a 400-degree item in a box and hand it to a customer without warning?” Dunn said. “That’s not what they normally do. The pizza is supposed to cool before it’s ever distributed. Even when you make pizza at home they tell you to allow it to cool for 5 minutes.”

Dunn said she warned her children that the pizza was hot after feeling the warm box, but claims the cardboard masked the pizza’s true temperature.

According to a trivia question Little Caesars  posted on Facebook in 2013, the pizzas are cooked at 550 degrees.

The Dunns told WXIA that someone with the Little Caesars office left them a voicemail only to say that they were aware of the issue. The family is now exploring possible legal action.

In a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle, Little Caesars Director of Communications Tina Orozco said:

“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. At this time, we believe that all procedures were followed. As a precaution, we have a warning label on our pizza boxes. Our customers expect to receive fresh, hot pizza out of the oven.”