A long-running lawsuit accusing a Los Gatos Thai restaurant of serving an appetizer so spicy it caused permanent injuries has reached a settlement, with a judge set to review the case’s dismissal next month. Harjasleen Walia, a San Jose doctor, and Coup de Thai have resolved the dispute over the restaurant’s Dragon Balls dish, though neither side is saying how.
The settlement agreement is confidential, and lawyers for both parties declined to discuss its terms, according to The Mercury News. A Santa Clara County court is scheduled to review the dismissal at a hearing on December 17. Attorney David Shane said this week that he expected the case to be dismissed, per the same report.
Walia, a neurologist at HA Brain & Spine Center in West San Jose, filed the lawsuit in 2023 against Coup de Thai, owner Tanatcha Swangchaeng, and unnamed restaurant workers. Court records reviewed by UniCourt show the civil personal-injury and tort case was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on July 3, 2023. Coup de Thai has operated on the main strip of Los Gatos since 2014.
What Walia Says Happened Over Dinner
Walia alleged she suffered chemical burns to her vocal cords, esophagus, and the inside of her right nostril while eating Dragon Balls, a chicken-meatball appetizer, with a friend at the restaurant in 2021. She claimed the injuries were permanent. Her lawsuit identified Thai bird’s eye chilis as the pepper responsible for the alleged burns.
According to her account, Walia asked the server to have the advertised spicy dish made with less spice because she could not tolerate spicy food, and the server said the chef would make the Dragon Balls milder. A restaurant supervisor, however, said the dish could not be made mild because the chilis are inside the meatballs themselves. Walia also accused the defendants of failing to train staff to offer Thai iced tea or another dairy-based product if a customer reacted badly to the spice.
Coup de Thai denied Walia’s claims in a 2023 court filing. Walia had sought unspecified damages, medical expenses, and compensation for purported lost earnings.
Conflicting Trial Dates Before the Settlement
The case had a winding path toward trial. A January report said a judge had agreed to reschedule the trial to November 9 from an earlier March 23 date. Separately, the November facts cited in reporting this week put the scheduled jury trial start at November 6, with proceedings expected to last five to seven days. Either way, the case settled before reaching a jury.
What Doctors Say About Thai Chilis
Medical experts outside the case offered some context on the chilis at the center of the dispute. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a physician at the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C., said Thai chilis can cause mouth and throat irritation, nausea, and heartburn, and that they are spicier than cayenne peppers but less fiery than habaneros. She said the peppers are not associated with permanent tissue damage.
Despite the controversy, Dragon Balls remain popular at Coup de Thai. The dish cost $11 at the time Walia filed her lawsuit and now costs $13. The restaurant still lists Dragon Balls first under its “most popular dishes” on its website.
