Restaurant owner trying to bribe me?

Location: Los Angeles, CA 90026

Hi all,

This past weekend, I was having dinner alone at a small, family-run Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, while my egg drop soup was being brought to my table, the hostess spilled it directly onto my crotch area. The soup was extremely hot….essentially near boiling and I immediately experienced severe pain.

The hostess was initially very apologetic. Despite the pain, I paid for my meal and immediately went to the ER. I was evaluated there and diagnosed with a second-degree burn. I received treatment and was ultimately discharged, but I was in significant pain afterward.

The following day, I called the restaurant to discuss what had happened. Unfortunately, I had considerable difficulty understanding the person I spoke with over the phone, so I went back to the restaurant in person.

The hostess, who I believe may also be one of the owners, seemed to treat the situation almost as a joke and even joked about looking at my crotch. I explained that the injury was serious and that, given the circumstances, I was considering consulting an attorney.

Her response was that she did not want lawyers involved. She then made what I found to be an extremely inappropriate and offensive suggestion: she told me that her cousin supposedly owns a massage establishment down the street and offered to have me go there so they could “take care of my stress” and rub lotion on the burned area.

I was extremely upset by this response and made it clear that I found the comment completely inappropriate, particularly given that I had suffered a documented second-degree burn.

She then laughed, offered to cover the cost of my dinner and future dinner, and said, “It comes with egg roll.”

At this point, I’m trying to figure out how I should proceed. I have her personal phone number. Would it be advisable to communicate with her in writing and ask her to confirm what happened, including that she spilled the soup on me and what was discussed afterward with the massage parlor?

Or should I avoid further communication and speak with a personal-injury attorney first?

I have my ER records and documentation of the burn. I’m primarily looking for advice on what steps I should take next and how to properly document the incident.