Family suing Arby's after mom found dead in freezer, grisly details revealed

A heartbroken family is suing Arby's after their 63-year-old mother was found dead frozen in a freezer. The woman was found dead inside the freezer of an Arby's located in Louisiana, and according to the lawsuit, her hands were bloody as though she had been beating on the door to escape or get someone's attention so she could get out.

The woman, Nguyet Le, went to the restaurant to open up and other employees weren't set to arrive until later. Unfortunately, in between the time she arrived and other workers would arrive, she had already gotten stuck inside the walk-in freezer and had begun to freeze in what could be described as "at least -10 degrees" or colder, according to the company policy as reported on WFLA.

Le's four children filed the lawsuit and claim the latch to escape the walk-in freezer was broken and should have been replaced quite a while ago, but wasn't, suggesting alleged negligence that could have resulted in Le being trapped in the freezer. The WFLA report stated:

However, the lawsuit, which was filed by Le’s four children, claims that the latch on the freezer had “been broken at least since August 2022” and alleges that both the franchise owner and the regional manager knew about the broken latch and did not fix it.

According to the lawsuit, employees “used a screwdriver to open and close the door” and also used a “box of oil to help keep the freezer door open.” A former employee even said that when the regional manager visited the New Iberia location, the employee “personally showed him the broken freezer door” after Aug. 2022.

The investigating officer stated that the inside of the freezer door “had been bloodied, leading him to conclude that Ms. Le panicked once locked inside and beat her hands bloody trying to escape or get someone’s attention,” according to the lawsuit.

As of now, the autopsy shows Le passed away from hypothermia and 'collapsed into fetal position face down on the frozen floor.' She was later found by her son when he came to Arby's, because he worked at the same restaurant as she did.

Le was found dead by her son shortly after he arrived at the store. Her son worked at the same Arby’s restaurant with her, according to the lawsuit.

The WFLA report shows the children seek at least $1 million EACH in damages. They accuse Arby's and Turbo restaurants of negligence and gross negligence, claiming they knew there was “an extremely dangerous condition at its restaurant” and also for “failing to repair the latch for nearly nine months.” The children believe the broken latch is why their mother was trapped inside the walk-in freezer and the cause of her death.