NEW IBERIA, Louisiana — The family of a Houston woman who was found dead in a Louisiana restaurant's walk-in freezer is now suing.
KHOU 11 obtained the lawsuit, which alleges a Louisiana Arby's knew the inside handle on that walk-in freezer had been broken for months when the woman, Nguyet Le, got stuck inside and died on May 11.
According to the lawsuit, Le worked as a general manager for a Houston Arby's and was on a temporary assignment at the Arby’s in New Iberia, Louisiana. She had been dropped off early to open the restaurant when she became stuck inside the freezer.
The lawsuit said that other employees, including her son, later came to the restaurant to work. It said her son was the one who found her inside the freezer. It also alleges that the walk-in freezer latch had been broken at least since August 2022 and that employees used a screwdriver to help open and close it and a box of oil to keep it open.
According to the lawsuit, company policy was to keep the freezer at least -10 degrees, and that Le’s cause of death was hypothermia.
We’re waiting for a response to the lawsuit from Arby’s.