LOS ANGELES—McDonald’s Corp. has filed a cross-complaint against an unidentified homeless man who allegedly attacked a customer at one of its stores near Los Angeles General Medical Center in 2023, asking that the assailant and other possible defendants compensate the fast-food chain for any damages it may be ordered to pay.
McDonald’s filed the legal action for indemnity and contribution in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 28, identifying the defendants only as “Roes.” The court papers state that McDonald’s denies any liability or negligence toward the plaintiff, Donald Wilson, but that the company should be indemnified by the defendants for any monetary damages assessed against McDonald’s.
Mr. Wilson filed his underlying case on May 31, alleging negligence and premises liability, asserting that McDonald’s failed to ensure safety for customers, including Mr. Wilson. According to the complaint, Mr. Wilson and his son went to the McDonald’s on Marengo Street on Feb. 4, 2023, to await his spouse’s completion of a night shift as a shift supervisor at the Los Angeles General Medical Center.
While waiting in line to order coffee, Mr. Wilson heard loud screaming coming from within the restaurant that came from an “agitated, threatening and disruptive” homeless man wearing a sweatshirt and only a thin bed sheet below his waist, the suit states.
“Without any warning for plaintiff to respond, the disruptive homeless individual suddenly got up from the booth, rapidly approached plaintiff and punched him forcefully in the left jaw,” the suit states.
The blow’s force caused Mr. Wilson to “crash backward onto his back and lose consciousness,” according to the suit, which further states that Mr. Wilson’s son was himself injured after he intervened and removed the assailant from the restaurant.
“Throughout this ordeal, not a single staff member from the McDonald’s premises offered any assistance to plaintiff,” including any immediate aid, the suit states.
Mr. Wilson was later taken to Los Angeles General Medical Center for treatment of a traumatic brain injury that still affects him, according to the complaint, which further states that the plaintiff has suffered financially and also experienced mental distress.
