A New Jersey woman recently won a $522,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed against a local Dunkin' Donuts®. She filed the lawsuit after tripping over a spike in the parking lot, which caused her to sustain injuries, CNBC reported on Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2015.

According to court documents, in January 2012, M. Marsala was carrying a tray of hot coffee when she came across a dislodged curb stop outside of a Dunkin' Donuts located in Highland Park, New Jersey. Marsala tripped over the metal rebar spoke, burned herself with the hot coffee and sustained back and shoulder injuries which required surgery, according to her attorney.

In addition to Dunkin' Donuts, the case named the property owner of the strip mall as a defendant. The case was scheduled to go to trial later in September 2015.

When CNBC requested a comment from Dunkin' Donuts, it did not immediately respond to the request.

The lawsuit against the coffee and donut chain is far from the first suit of this kind. According to CNBC, both Starbucks and McDonald's have faced similar lawsuits over burns from scalding hot coffee.

Parking Lot Maintenance is for the Public's Protection

Marsala's attorney told CNBC that basic standards for parking lot maintenance are there for the safety and protection of the public. Further adding that allowing a spike to protrude out of the asphalt clearly violates these standards.

Though it's never a replacement for health, Ms. Marsala hopes that the settlement will remind business owners that their customers' safety should always be the priority, said her personal injury lawyer.

Were you injured on someone else's property?

If you were injured on public or private property, you may have grounds to file a claim for financial compensation as Ms. Marsala did in the case against Dunkin' Donuts. To learn more about your legal rights, reach out to a personal injury attorney in this directory who can file a claim on your behalf.