A Portland-area McDonald’s customer has filed a $10,000 lawsuit against the burger chain, claiming an employee demanded that she remove her shirt so she could be photographed after part of a soda machine injured her upper body.

Becki Marchinek’s invasion-of-privacy lawsuit states that she was bruised when a metal piece from the drink dispenser fell off and struck her armpit and wrist at a McDonald’s next to Clackamas Town Center, near Southeast 82nd Avenue and Sunnyside Road.

Marchinek, 34, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that a female employee told her she needed to accompany her to the women’s restroom to document her injuries, and it was inside that restroom that the employee insisted she take off her shirt.

“I said ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this, and she said ‘It’s policy that we document all injuries,’” Marchinek said.

Marchinek said she and the employee went back and forth a few times, as Marchinek stepped toward the door to leave. The employee blocked the door and refused to budge, Marchinek said.

“I felt like the only way she was going to move was if I let her take pictures,” Marchinek said, explaining that she then gave in.

Lindsay Rainey, a McDonald's spokeswoman, declined comment because of the pending litigation. No one answered phone calls to the Southeast 82nd Avenue restaurant.

Becki Marchinek says this photo shows bruising on her wrist from a McDonald's soda machine.

Marchinek said she was so upset by the interaction with the employee that after she left the restroom, she told her husband and four children she wanted to go even though her meal wasn’t ready yet.

Neal Peton, Marchinek’s attorney, said his client originally hadn’t been planning on suing at the time the McDonald’s employee pulled her aside into the restroom. She decided to file suit, however, because she feels she was mistreated.

“She’s not suing for a lot of money,” Peton said. “It’s more the principle of it.”

Marchinek said there was only reason she told management about the metal piece falling off the drink dispenser: “I just wanted them to be aware that ... they should probably fix it before someone gets seriously injured.”

The suit seeks $2,211 for Marchinek’s medical costs and $7,889 for her embarrassment and inconvenience.

In addition to McDonald's Corporation, the lawsuit also lists Ivory Coast Management, among other defendants. The suit was filed Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Read the lawsuit here.

-- Aimee Green

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