The employee found dead in a freezer at an Arby's restaurant got trapped inside, and beat her hands bloody trying to escape ... according to a new lawsuit from her family.
The manager was Nguyet Le and now her family members are suing Arby's and the company that owns the franchise location in Louisiana.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Nguyet was temporarily managing the Arby's in New Iberia ... and it was her own son who discovered her lifeless body in the walk-in freezer.
The family claims Nguyet was dropped off for work the morning of May 11 to open the restaurant alone when she got trapped in the freezer.
The suit says the latch on the freezer door had been broken since August and the restaurant operators neglected to fix the issue even though they knew about it, leaving employees to resort to using a screwdriver to open and close the door, which was often propped open with a box of oil.
The family claims company policy called for the freezer to be kept to at least -10 degrees if not colder ... and police investigators found the inside of the freezer door bloodied, leading them to conclude Nguyet panicked once she realized she was locked inside and beat her hands bloody trying to escape or get someone's attention.
Ultimately, the suit says the widow and mother of 4 collapsed into the fetal position face down on the frozen floor and died from hypothermia.
It's tragic ... the suit says her body was discovered by her son, Nguyen, who also worked at the restaurant and was coming in to work his shift.
The family is going after Arby's and the franchise owner for damages.
A rep for Arby's echoes the company's previous statement in saying, "We are aware of the tragic incident that took place at our franchised location in New Iberia, LA. The franchisee is cooperating fully with local authorities as they conduct their investigation. Due to this being an active investigation, we defer any further comment to the state police department.”