One Houston family is filing a lawsuit against Turbo Restaurants, its franchise management company Sun Holdings, and Arby’s parent company Inspire Brands for gross negligence after discovering their mother dead in an Arby's freezer. Nguyet Le, 63, had been trapped inside the walk-in freezer. It was not mentioned as to how long she was stuck.
Le was on an extended temporary assignment as general manager at an Arby's location in New Iberia, Louisiana. The restaurant is owned by Turbo Restaurants, part of franchise management company Sun Holdings.
Le had been dropped off at the restaurant to open it before other employees arrived, which is when she got trapped in the freezer. Nguyen, Le's son, discovered her body when he clocked in for his shift on May 11.
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The inside of the freezer door was found bloodied. It was assumed that Le had beat her hands bloody trying to escape or get someone's attention. “Ultimately, she collapsed into a fetal position face down on the frozen floor," the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit went on to claim that the company policy is to keep the freezer at -10 degrees, or even colder. The regional manager of the location was also aware that the freezer latch was broken. “Thus, Turbo Restaurants had knowledge of an extremely dangerous condition at its restaurant since at least August 2022.”
It was shared that employees had to use a screwdriver to help open and close the door, as well as a box of oil to help prop it open. "They acted with conscious indifference in failing to repair the latch for nearly 9 months. This was the cause in fact and proximate cause of Ms. Le’s death,” the lawsuit alleges.
The family is suing for gross negligence. Their demands are a jury trial and over $1 million in damages.
The grieving family is seeking all damages available to a wrongful death beneficiary under law, loss of consortium, past and future mental anguish, conscious pain and suffering, loss of support, and loss of love and affection. But nothing can make up for a loss that wasn't supposed to happen in the first place.
"We are aware of the tragic incident that took place at our franchised location in New Iberia, LA," an Arby's spokesperson noted in a statement. "The franchisee is cooperating fully with local authorities as they conduct their investigation. Due to this being an active investigation, we defer any further comment to the state police department."
