California doc sues restaurant, alleging ‘Dragon Balls’ appetizer burned her

Published Oct 17, 2024  •  2 minute read

San Jose doctor Harjasleen Walia is suing a Thai restaurant after claiming a spicy appetizer burned her. HeadacheAwayMD Brain & Spine Center

Some people like their food hot and spicy.

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But one California doctor said too much spice has left her with irreparable damage.

San Jose neurologist Harjasleen Walia’s lawsuit against a Thai restaurant will be heard by a jury next year after claiming her vocal cords, esophagus and right nostril were burned by the eatery’s Dragon Balls appetizer, reported Bay Area News Group.

“She incurred permanent injuries and will forever be damaged,” the lawsuit alleged against restaurant Coup de Thai.

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The restaurant described the Dragon Balls as a “spicy chicken ball fried with mint, shallot, green onion, cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, chili and rice powder, served hot.”

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Walia, who works at HeadacheAwayMD Brain and Spine Center, claimed she went to the eatery with a friend in July 2021 and ordered several appetizers, including the Dragon Balls.

After ordering the Dragon Balls, she asked the server to make them “with less spice as she does not tolerate spicy foods,” the suit said, and the server replied that “they would have the chef make them less spicy.”

When she took a bite of the food, Walia alleged she almost immediately “felt her entire mouth, the roof of her mouth, her tongue, her throat and her nose burn like fire” and that her “eyes and nose watered and she began coughing.”

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She then “drank an entire glass of coconut water and more water, but the burning did not subside,” the lawsuit alleged.

According to the court filing, Walia alleged a “new employee who prepared the dish made an error and added additional peppers rather than reducing them, as requested.”

However, the outlet reported at the time the lawsuit was filed that a supervisor at the restaurant said the appetizer cannot be made with less spice because the ingredients are inside the meat and they encourage patrons who are intolerant to the ingredients to order a milder alternative.

The restaurant, which has denied the allegations, said it hadn’t received any medical records related to the incident as of late August.

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