Home Care In Greenwood, CA

WARNING: This story contains graphic images of burned skin.

The family of an Ontario woman who says she was was scalded by a cup of hot Tim Hortons tea is suing the coffee-and-doughnut shop's Canadian franchisor and the owner of one of its locations for $500,000 in damages.

But the defendants — TDL Group Corp. and Greenwood Enterprises Inc. — deny any allegations of negligence.

Jackie Lansing, 73, told CBC Toronto she was driving her sister to a medical appointment in May 2022 when they pulled in to the drive-thru at a Tim Hortons on Highway 60 in Huntsville, Ont.

Lansing ordered a medium black tea with two milks, which she said a worker passed to her through the window.

"I took it, put it in the cupholder and I said, 'I don't know, it seems really hot, it doesn't seem like she's put any milk in it,'" Lansing said in an interview.

"So I lifted it up to see if there was milk in it and the cup collapsed and [the tea] went on my stomach and my legs."

Lansing, who lives just south of Rousseau, Ont., suffered "severe, painful and permanent injuries" from the spill, including second-degree burns on approximately six per cent of her body, according to a statement of claim filed on her behalf in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto in December.

"I was actually in shock because it was so painful," Lansing said.

The lawsuit argues the restaurant was negligent by giving Lansing the tea at a "scalding temperature" in a defective cup that "collapsed in on itself."

"The cup provided by the restaurant was faulty and deficient for its intended use," the statement of claim reads. "The black tea provided was ... a hazard rather than a beverage."

Ten months after the injury, Lansing said the backs of her legs are scarred and she still has sores on her stomach.

"I just wish they would accept the responsibility," she said.

The lawsuit identifies TDL Group as the company responsible for the supply of materials and upkeep of standards at the Huntsville Tim Hortons, as well as the leaseholder of the property on which the restaurant is located. TDL Group is an owned subsidiary of Tim Hortons' U.S.-based parent company Restaurant Brands International, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Greenwood Enterprises operates the restaurant, according to the lawsuit.

Lansing is claiming $450,000 in damages for pain and suffering, medical costs and other expenses related to her injuries. Her husband and sister, also named as plaintiffs, are claiming $50,000 for the loss of guidance, care and companionship and for expenses incurred and lost income while caring for Lansing.

Gavin Tighe, a partner with the Toronto law firm Gardiner Roberts LLP who represents the family, said restaurants have a "duty of care" to ensure beverages are served at a temperature that's safe for consumption.

"If it's capable of scalding your body, it's capable of scalding your mouth," Tighe said in an interview.

"So why are restaurants serving it at that temperature?"

Tighe argued Tim Hortons hasn't taken sufficient preventative action following similar scalding incidents, including one involving a Winnipeg woman in 2013.

Defendants deny all allegations

In a statement of defence filed in late February, a lawyer representing TDL and Greenwood denied that serving the hot tea created a hazard or that the condition of the cup contributed to the spill. Instead, they blamed Lansing for her injuries.

"If the plaintiffs sustained the injuries and damages alleged ... such injuries and damages were caused and/or contributed to by the acts and/or omissions of [Lansing] herself," Andrea LeDrew of the Toronto-based law firm Stieber Berlach LLP wrote.

"She was the author of her own misfortune."

The statement of defence argues the defendants, their agents and staff "fulfilled all duties of care in regards to the sale and delivery of hot beverages" and that even if the spill was a result of the condition of the cup, it was not "in any way caused or contributed to by any breach of care or duty on the part of the defendants."

LeDrew asked the court to dismiss the claim.

Tim Hortons declined to comment while the matter is before the courts.

According to the Tea Association of Canada's website, tea should be prepared at temperatures ranging between 85 C for white and green tea to 100 C for black and herbal teas. The association also calls for those teas to steep for between one and six minutes, depending on the type.

But the U.S.-based Burn Foundation says water at 68 C is already hot enough to cause a third-degree burn in just one second.

Dr. Alan Rogers, a burn surgeon at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto who is not involved in the case, said the severity of a hot liquid burn depends on a number of factors, including the age of the patient as well as the temperature of the liquid, its viscosity and the duration of contact it has with the skin.

"If it's on their clothing for a longer period of time, whether it's been washed appropriately with ... cool running water immediately, then it's less likely to cause a burn injury," he said.

Hot beverages central to several lawsuits

Rajiv Haté, a personal injury lawyer with Kotak Lawyers in Toronto who is also not involved in the case, said lawsuits against restaurants claiming damages for hot beverage burns are common.

The likelihood of success depends on whether Lansing can prove negligence on part of the restaurant or its staff, Haté said, or if the defence can successfully argue contributory negligence on her part.

"It's really what caused it to occur and how did that end up impacting the plaintiff, but also, did the plaintiff do anything to contribute to that?" he said.

Haté said if the case goes to trial, experts are likely to be brought in to testify on issues like the proper standards for serving hot beverages and under what circumstances a cup like the one used could be faulty.

Lansing's case is reminiscent of a high-profile U.S. case in the early 1990s that generated international attention.

In 1992, then-79-year old Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns when she accidentally spilled a cup of hot McDonald's coffee in her lap and pelvic region. She sued the restaurant chain and a jury found McDonald's carried the majority of liability for serving coffee that was too hot.

She was awarded nearly $2.9 million US in damages in 1994 — roughly $5 million US in present day money — although a judge later reduced the award to $640,000 US and the case was eventually settled out of court.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reporter

Ryan is a reporter with CBC Toronto. He has also worked for CBC in Vancouver, Yellowknife and Ottawa, filing for web, radio and TV. You can reach him by email at [email protected].

The PGA Barracuda tournament is back for the second time at Truckee’s Old Greenwood golf course this year. Competitors at this full-on PGA tour stop are playing for points to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoff championship, and all proceeds are going to charity. This is the first year spectators will be allowed to visit the tournament as COVID-19 restrictions loosen, and it’s a great opportunity for audiences to acknowledge Old Greenwood’s entertaining backstory as a historic location while visiting.

Who traveled here?

Thousands and thousands of American pioneers. Today’s exit from Interstate 80 to Old Greenwood is named Overland Trail. This commemorates the original path pioneers traveled on the California/Emigrant Trail, which passed near the vicinity of the present location of the golf course as currently located.

Census data and traveler records tell that thousands of Americans traveling to California- including the 1846 Donner Party — followed this route on their way from the Midwest to the Sacramento Valley and coast beyond. The route was most popular after the 1844 Stevens-Townsend-Murphy Party became the first group to successfully ride wagons across the Sierra until more convenient mountain passes gained popularity later in the decade.

Even after more efficient pioneer traveling routes like the Carson Trail were developed in following years, the Truckee route remained a go-to as the approximate route for the transcontinental railroad after 1867, and much later for the Lincoln Highway (Donner Pass Road) and eventually Interstate 80. There is no concrete archeological evidence that the Stevens-Townsend-Murphy party camped on land currently owned by today’s golf course but the former nearby Emigrant Trail Museum maintains that the historically relevant group absolutely did navigate in the vicinity.

Who was Caleb Greenwood?

Caleb Greenwood was an old man who navigated the mountains. The Stevens-Townsend-Murphy party which pioneered wagon travel through the Sierra in 1844 was partially guided by Caleb Greenwood.

A group of emigrants led by Captain Stevens, Dr. Townsend and Martin Murphy needed a guide who not only knew the route to California but also how to interact with native peoples they would encounter along the way. Greenwood had vast knowledge due to his background and marriage to a native woman. This was a capstone but nevertheless late event in Greenwood’s career. Greenwood claimed that for almost 40 years beforehand he had navigated the American West involved in fur trapping, trading and exploration.

Author Charles Kelly tells that Greenwood moved from Virginia to St. Louis in present day Missouri and entered the fur trading industry. This work led Greenwood to frequently travel from Missouri across modern Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and other frontier territories between the 1810s and 1840s. By the time he helped blaze the Steven-Townsend-Murphy party’s route which became the hazardous Truckee section of the California Trail, he was in very old age. His dramatic age difference with contemporary young explorers earned him the “Old” Greenwood nickname which today’s golf course commemorates.

What’s hidden behind Hole 12?

Decades after Caleb Greenwood navigated the vicinity, Chinese workers operated the land near today’s golf course. Archeologists who excavated Old Greenwood in 2002 speculate that charcoal for railroads, mines and local furnaces was manufactured at the site during the 1870s and 1880s. Beneath today’s golf course they uncovered rice bowls, opium, and Chinese coins which indicate coal was produced by Chinese laborers looking for work after gold mining and local railroad construction dwindled. A marker behind Old Greenwood’s hole 12 commemorates where almost 150 of these ovens were located and one still remains buried. The marker ironically indicates that fresh, green logs — or “green wood” — formed the base of the ovens because they resisted burning despite high temperatures from charcoal burning.

Two other nearby golf courses are named for early Truckee history. George Shaffer’s sawmill, located in the vicinity of today’s Schaffer’s Mill, Lahontan and Northstar golf courses, catalyzed Truckee’s early lumber economy and road access to Truckee in the 1860s. Joseph Gray opened a rest stop along the 1860s wagon trail near today’s downtown Truckee, which is reflected in nearby golf course Gray’s Crossing’s name. Both these early pioneers benefited from Caleb Greenwood’s early trailblazing and interacted with Truckee’s early Chinese labor force. Old Greenwood Golf Course’s name similarly connects it to a historic backstory worth appreciating at the Barracuda tournament this year.

Conor Villines is a volunteer for the Truckee-Donner Historical Society. He holds a BA in History and an MA in Journalism from the University of Arizona, and enjoys learning as much as possible about Truckee and California history

Deputy City Atty. Elizabeth Greenwood was at work in City Hall East last fall when her shin began to hurt.

“I looked down and there were a couple of insect bites,” Greenwood recalled. She thought little of it at the time, she said, but within weeks she was gravely ill with what doctors would ultimately diagnose as the flea-borne illness typhus.

“It was absolutely terrifying,” Greenwood said, describing symptoms that included a 102-degree fever, “the worst headache I have ever had in my life,” and dizziness so severe that she needed help walking to the bathroom.

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Greenwood’s experience — and her willingness to speak publicly about it — was a driving factor in this week’s admission by city officials that Los Angeles’ iconic seat of government is infested with vermin.

In the wake of media reports about her condition, City Council members and staffers stepped forward with their own accounts of office flea bites and rats skittering down hallways, over official documents and into ceiling panels.

City officials are now pursuing a full-court press to eradicate rats and fleas. Crews are to clean up the entire Civic Center area in coming weeks, including stepped-up street sweeping and removal of vegetation that may provide animals with shelter or food. Employees are being told to empty the trash each night and put away food and water that may attract animals. There is discussion of ripping out office carpets to get rid of droppings and fleas.

Greenwood, who works in a unit that defends the LAPD in lawsuits brought against the department, is the only City Hall employee who has said publicly that she contracted typhus.

The disease, which has been around since medieval times, is carried by rats. Fleas become infected when they bite rats and then spread it to humans either through bites or when the insects’ feces are rubbed into a cut or scrape in a person’s skin.

Typhus has been a growing problem in L.A. The disease is associated with overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, and last year, after a half dozen homeless people came down with typhus, county officials declared an outbreak in downtown L.A. At the time, they urged residents to steer clear of rats and other wild animals.

Typhus’ symptoms include a rash, fever and fatigue. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, said that the severity of the disease varies widely and some people recover without ever realizing they had typhus.

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“Unless doctors are well aware of the signs and symptoms, it may be misdiagnosed,” said Klausner, an infectious disease expert. He said that “if people see fleas in their work environment, they need to be aware that one of the infections they could have is typhus.”

Greenwood’s doctor initially diagnosed her with meningitis. She said that as she lay in bed one day wondering why she wasn’t getting better, she recalled Mayor Eric Garcetti’s email last October warning of the typhus outbreak.

“I googled ‘typhus’ and all of my symptoms were included on the list,” she said. A blood test later confirmed her diagnosis, she said.

Greenwood said she notified the City Attorney’s office that she had typhus, but supervisors did not alert co-workers.

“It was clear they just didn’t believe me,” she said. Spokesmen for the office did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Greenwood said she saw herself as “the canary in the coal mine” of the problem and decided to go to the media to protect other civil servants and members of the public who visit the City Hall complex. KNBC first reported on her condition.

Three and a half months after she became ill, Greenwood describes herself as “98% better.” She suffers from occasional bouts of vertigo, but eventually plans to return to work.

“If they fumigate, I will come back,” she said.

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By Peyton Furtado

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GREENVILLE, South Carolina (WYFF) — Lake Greenwood provides clean drinking water to tens of thousands of people in Greenwood and Laurens counties. But just over an hour upstream in Greenville County, the 130-year-old Conestee Dam is crumbling and cracking day by day, according to experts, holding back millions of tons of chemicals and raw sewage.

“We’re worried. That old dam is pretty tedious,” said Greenville County Councilman Butch Kirven. “You know that the rainfall we had this past week was almost-record levels. And there’s some cracks in the dam now between those old stones that were set into place.”

The dam was built in 1892 to power the Conestee Mill, which went out of business in the 1970s.

During that time, before environmental ordinances were put into place, the mills and businesses along the river dumped their toxic waste and sewage into the water.

Now, lawmakers say that the dam is leaking.

Though Kirven and other lawmakers said some have known about the problem for a few years, they’ve never gotten this close to addressing it.

“With those companies gone, why is it my problem? They should fix that over there,” Kirven said, explaining the mindset. “Those people should fix this. Why doesn’t Greenville City fix it? Why doesn’t Greenville County fix it? Well, nobody like that has got $47.5 million.”

According to a study led by Kleinschmidt Consulting, dams built in the Upstate during the late 19th century were typically only meant to last 50 years.

One hundred and thirty years later, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said the state of the dam and the presence of metals, pesticides and other chemicals encased in sediment at the bottom of the water it holds back is hazardous.

Kirven said he can’t fathom how much damage it could do if breached.

“You can’t put a price on lives and health,” he said. “Property damage would be in the billions of dollars, no doubt about that.”

The pollution pouring into the Reedy River and flowing into Lake Greenwood, a source of drinking water for Laurens County and Greenwood County’s only drinking was source.

“We’ll either be taking showers in bottled water or take turns sticking our fingers in the dam, so the water doesn’t leak out and get us,” said Greenwood Lake resident Bradley Wooten.

“If the dam breaks,” he continued, “this lake, the ecology, the water supply and pretty much everything downstream from the lake, Columbia and Lake Murray and beyond will be affected.”

After state lawmakers set aside $3 million in 2022 to address Conestee Dam, DHEC recommended building a new dam about 10 feet in front of the old one. It should take three years to build.

Before they break ground, representatives on the local and state level will need to come up with at least $47.5 million.

According to Greenwood County Council member Dayne Pruitt, it could put people in a difficult quandary.

“If you look at responsible parties, which most are not in business anymore,” he said. “And you’ve got us downstream that it affects, but if we ask our taxpayers to pay for something that we didn’t cause, can we ask the state? We need help. We need help from state, we need help from federal, if it’s possible.”

We reached out to the Conestee Foundation, which owns the Conestee Dam and Conestee Nature Preserve behind it. The nonprofit responded that they are considered a non-responsible party.

Executive director Michael Corley stated, “This is something that we’re diligently working on and have been for decades. We’re closer than ever to solving the problems.”

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An honest-to-goodness castle has been photographed sticking out of a dune on the Outer Banks, and North Carolina state parks officials say it’s not a Photoshop prank.

There is a castle buried at Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head and half of it — 10 to 15 feet — has emerged due to shifting sands, according to park superintendent Joy Greenwood.

It’s suspected another 15 feet could still be buried, hinting additional shifts in the dune could expose an oddity not seen in decades.

So how did a castle end up on the Outer Banks?

“The castle is part of an old miniature golf course that operated from 1979-1987/88. I actually played on it!” Greenwood told McClatchy News in an email.

The course “was acquired by the state after the owner was frustrated by the amount of sand covering the course each year. ... She was in negotiations with a local contractor to remove the sand, but the state got involved to keep the sand in the park.”

It has been 35 years since the park system bought the 3.11 acres and allowed nature to take its course on the course.

As a result, parts of the course are buried 30 to 40 feet under sand, Greenwood says.

The castle sits close to the crosswalk off 158 Bypass and is the only golf course structure known to survive inside park boundaries. (Most were carted away by a church, only to end up destroyed in a fire, officials say.)

“Depending on storms, more or less is exposed. Presently it is more exposed than it has been in a very long time: Probably 15+ years,” Greenwood says. “The sand is being depleted from the north side and moving to (the) south. Enough of this sand has moved to not replenish the sand around the castle.”

Questions about the castle’s origins began surfacing in early November, when photos appeared on Facebook pages devoted to the Outer Banks.

“How did we miss this,” Charlene Miller posted on Facebook.

“Looks like something from a movie!” Renay Van Horn Smith wrote.

Among those who have shared images of the castle is professional photographer Wes Snyder, who is known for focusing on Outer Banks settings. He says he has long known about the castle and has watched with interest as more and more has been revealed.