I'm Not Lovin' It

Rockford Woman Sues McDonald's After Allegedly Being Denied Food

'A Rockford woman claims she was denied service at two local McDonald's because of her disability. Now she's filed a lawsuit against the fast food chain. 13 News sat down with Dawn Larson to talk about the suit.

Dawn Larson was born with Holt-Oram Syndrome, a genetic disorder which causes abnormalities in the hands, arms, and heart. Her tiny hands are about 6 inches from her shoulders, so she does most things with her feet.

Dawn says her disability's never stopped her from leading a normal life. "I do everyday things like everyday people." But on November 3rd, she says that changed. Larson pulled up to the McDonald's drive through on Kishwaukee Street and ordered food for her and her sons. She drove to the first window, gave the cashier her credit card with her foot, and pulled up to get her food. Dawn says, "The first girl said, 'Girl, you ain't got no arms' and the manager said she couldn't hand me her food and she just kept sticking to the fact that I didn't have no arms and she was disgusted by it. I had the right to eat my dinner and feed my kids and they took that away from me."

Larson says the manager eventually agreed to hand Larson's son the food. But she says an incident 3 and a half moths later at the McDonald's on 11th Street didn't end that way. Larson claims an employee there refused to even do that. "I paid to be discriminated against and I paid to be disrespected and I paid to not even have the right to eat my food."

Larson says McDonald's sent her a 10 dollar gift certificate in response to her complaint. Now she's suing the fast food corporation to prevent anyone else from going through what she did. "That's saying McDonald's condones and urges people to treat the handicapped that way. I don't want that message to come across. I want to fight for my rights and my kids rights and have these things changed."

13 News' calls to McDonald's were not returned.'