McDonald’s Worker Says He’s Fighting Severe Burns After Hot-Oil Attack

A California McDonald’s employee is in the hospital fighting severe second-degree burns after a co-worker allegedly threw hot oil at him, police said.  

Jacob Smith, 20, suffered burns on the side of his face, neck, right arm, and back, according to local outlet KCRA. The alleged assault happened Saturday night in Yuba City, California, which is about 45 minutes north of Sacramento. 

His mother, Amber Smith, said her son was preparing to clock out when his world was turned upside down. 

“He was in the office getting ready to count the money when he saw out of the corner of his eye something, and he just turned, and the oil was just thrown on him,” Smith told KCRA. 

Smith is undergoing specialized treatment in the UC Davis ICU burn unit. The family believes the liquid was “hot oil.” 

“The pain he’s experiencing is so excruciating that they can’t give him a level of pain medicine outside of the ICU,” Smith told KCRA. “They’re just telling me that their goal right now is to decrease the size of the burn on his back and his neck area to try to minimize the amount of skin grafting that they’re looking at having to do.” 

Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Jalani Bluett of Yuba City. Deputies arrested Bluett on Monday and booked him into the Sutter County Jail on a charge of battery causing serious bodily injury, according to KCRA.

“I want justice to be served. I want him to serve the time he needs to serve for what he’s done to my son. I mean, I don’t wish bad things towards him. I just want him to understand that what he did—really understand what he did — and the pain that he caused to my son is excruciating,” Smith told KCRA.

The circumstances leading up to the incident remain unclear. 

Jacob’s family set up a GoFundMe page to help supplement his recovery, which has raised more than $133k. 

“On May 30, my son Jacob was working his shift at McDonald’s, where he has been a loyal and dedicated employee for several years. What should have been a normal day at work turned into a nightmare when a coworker assaulted him by throwing hot oil on him,” Smith’s family said in the GoFundMe. 

“Jacob suffered severe second-degree burns to his face, arm, and back. He was rushed for medical treatment and will be spending time in the hospital as doctors work to help him heal. He now faces a long and painful recovery process that will include ongoing medical care, treatments, and time away from work.”

McDonald’s didn’t respond to requests for comment, according to the outlet.