Exploding Corona Bottle Blinded Staffer in One Eye, Suit Alleges

The popular beer buckets at hip summer boat restaurant Frying Pan apparently have verged on dangerous in the past: A former barback at the restaurant is suing Corona — alleging that a Corona Extra bottle exploded and left him permanently blind in one eye, the Post reports.

According to the lawsuit, Gonzalo Luis-Morales was setting the bottle in an ice bucket in July 2017 when it suddenly burst and sent glass directly into his left eye, “causing serious injury, loss of vision, pain, suffering, and other damages.”

He received nine stitches, had two eye surgeries, and has been out of work since the incident. Glass bottles now make him nervous, and he has trouble leaving his house unaccompanied because of the way his depth perception has been affected by the incident, Luis-Morales tells the Post.

His lawyer John Danzi alleges that at least two other Frying Pan employees were injured from exploding Corona bottles before the more serious accident with Luis-Morales, claiming that Corona skimps during the production process. “When something goes wrong with the brewing or bottling process, you can end up with a grenade that’s waiting to explode,” he says.

People pretty much go to Frying Pan for the beer buckets. Update: A spokesperson for the Frying Pan tells Eater that in the wake of Luis-Morales’ accident, the restaurant immediately removed all Corona items from the menu. “We are greatly saddened by this incident and fully supportive of the employee who was injured,” the spokesperson writes in a statement.

The Post notes that Luis-Morales is suing Corona’s brewer Constellation Brands Inc., the bottle manufacturer Owens-Illinois Inc., and the distributor Manhattan Beer for negligence.

• Barback says he was blinded by exploding beer bottle in lawsuit [NY Post]