If you or your child was severely burned by Maruchan® Instant Lunch or another instant cup noodle product, you are not alone. Hundreds of incidents have been reported. Doctors warn that design flaws make instant noodle soup cups prone to tipping over, with devastating consequences — especially for children.
What You Can Do & How a Maruchan Soup Burn Lawsuit Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting cup noodle induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured by Maruchan Instant Lunch or another cup noodle soup, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call us toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Maruchan Instant Lunch Lawsuit Filed for Child Burn Injury
January 23, 2014 — A mother from North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against Maruchan for severe, disfiguring burn injuries that occurred when a cup of Maruchan Instant Noodles spilled on her 1 year-old daughter. The girl has needed multiple reconstructive surgeries and has scarring on her back and lower body. Click here to read more.
Soup Burn Lawsuit Filed by Mother of Child Who Needed Skin Grafts
What is Maruchan Instant Lunch?
Maruchan is an American manufacturer of instant ramen noodle soup products. One of their most popular products, Maruchan Instant Lunch, is sold in a small styrofoam cup filled with dehydrated noodles, vegetables, and seasoning. Customers are instructed to boil water in a separate container, add the water to the cup, close the lid, and allow the product to cook. It is normally eaten directly out of the cup.
Maruchan products include:
- Maruchan Instant Lunch
- Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup
- Maruchan Ramen
- Maruchan Bowl
- Maruchan Yakisoba
- And more
What is the problem with Maruchan Instant Lunch?
Unlike other Maruchan noodle products, Maruchan Instant Lunch is designed with a round base that is wider at the top than the bottom. Furthermore, Instant Lunch is taller than it is wide. Studies have found that taller soup cups are more likely to tip over than products with “bowl”-shaped designs.
In 2007, the Journal of Burn Care & Research published a study “Instant cup of soup: design flaw increase risk of burns”, warning:
“Instant soups are packaged in containers that tend to be tall with a narrow base that predisposes them to being knocked over and spilled. Simple redesigning of instant soup packaging with a wider base and shorter height, along with the requirement for warnings about the risks of burns would reduce the frequency of soup burns.”
Instant Noodle Soup and Burn Injuries
NPR interviewed Dr. Warren Garner, who is the director of the burn unit at a University of Southern California hospital about the dangers of instant noodle soup burns. He said he sees “at least two to three patients a week who’ve been injured by these products” — especially children.
“These soups are dangerous because of the way the cups are designed. The cups are tall, lightweight, and have an unstable base that makes them tip over easily.”
Why Are Instant Noodle Soup Burns So Severe?
- Children have very thin skin and are burned easily: Studies have found that although the burnt area of skin was typically less than 5% of total body area, at least 1 in 5 children require surgery or skin grafts because the burns are so severe.
- Noodles stay hotter than liquid soups, causing more severe burn injuries. In May 2007, research published a study, warning: “Noodle soup causes a significantly longer hospital stay than other types of soup.”
- People may underestimate the risk. Plaintiff Latish Beam said: “The average person does not know how bad those noodles can burn a child.” She filed a soup burn lawsuit on behalf of her 3 year-old son, who required skin grafts after he was burned by a cup of noodles that spilled in his lap.
Do I have a Maruchan Soup Burn Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting cup noodle induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured by Maruchan Instant Lunch or another cup noodle soup, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call us toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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