California doctor sues Thai restaurant over dish that burned her throat, says lawsuit

A California doctor is suing a Thai restaurant after she was served a dish that was so spicy it reportedly “permanently” harmed her, according to her claims.

Dr. Harjasleen Walia, a board-certified neurologist in San Jose, is suing over Coup de Thai’s Dragon Balls dish, which she ate in 2023, according to lawsuit documents obtained by the Mercury News.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2023, but Walia made recent headlines after she elected to appear in court pro se this week. Walia has claimed that the Los Gatos restaurant’s appetizer burned her vocal cords, esophagus and the inside of her right nostril.

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The Dragon Balls dish is made of “spicy chicken ball[s] fried with mint, shallot [and] green onion,” according to Coup de Thai’s website.

The dish, which also features “cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, chili and rice powder,” is served hot.

The culprit in the meal is Thai chili, or bird’s eye chili. 

Measuring between 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), the peppers are spicier than cayenne and serrano peppers but fall below habanero peppers.

The lawsuit states, as the Mercury News reported, that Walia asked her server to make the dish with less spice because “she does not tolerate spicy foods.”

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The server agreed, according to the lawsuit — but then Walia took a bite of the dish. 

Walia “felt her entire mouth, the roof of her mouth, her tongue, her throat and her nose burn like fire,” according to the suit – to the point that her “eyes and nose watered, and she began coughing.”

The doctor also said she lost her voice and was diagnosed with internal “chemical burns” from the chilis in the dish.

“[Walia] drank an entire glass of coconut water and more water, but the burning did not subside.”

“[She] incurred permanent injuries and will forever be damaged,” the lawsuit claims.

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Walia’s suit also claims that she asked a waitress for a dairy product to help with the burns, but no help came.

No “milk, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream or other dairy product was provided or offered to Ms. Walia to quell the obvious burning,” the suit said.

“[Walia] drank an entire glass of coconut water and more water, but the burning did not subside.”

The lawsuit claims the dish in question was “unfit for human consumption.”

The restaurant “failed to take precautions by consulting with health officials or emergency service personnel regarding the risks associated with serving too much Thai chili in an appetizer like Dragon Balls,” the lawsuit claims.

No one else required medical attention due to the food, the restaurant said. 

Coup de Thai has denied causing any harm. 

A representative told the Mercury News the dish couldn’t be made less spicy because the chili is inside the balls — and that no one else required medical attention due to the restaurant’s food.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walia and Coup de Thai for additional comment.

Spice is a popular addition to liven up a dish. 

In 2019, a chef said that he temporarily lost his hearing after eating a spicy meal.