A customer at McDonalds Restaurant was severely burned when she spilled an extremely hot cup of coffee on herself. She incurred third degree burns, underwent skin grafts, and spent seven days in the hospital.
At a trial for negligence, it was shown that the coffee at this particular McDonalds franchise was 15-20 degrees hotter than coffee typically served in restaurants; that McDonald's had received more than 500 complaints about the temperature of its coffee; and that McDonalds knew that some other customers had received severe burns.
aiminhigh24u2
It's dumbazz people like this woman clogging up our Court system, making the John Edwards attorney types wealthy and forcing higher insurance costs on to us all
McShame08
There is a lot of hype about the McDonalds' scalding coffee case. No
one is in favor of frivolous cases of outlandish results; however, it is
important to understand some points that were not reported in most of
the stories about the case. McDonalds coffee was not only hot, it was
scalding -- capable of almost instantaneous destruction of skin, flesh
and muscle. Here's the whole story.
Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of
her grandson's car when she was severely burned by McDonalds' coffee in
February 1992. Liebeck, 79 at the time, ordered coffee that was served
in a styrofoam cup at the drivethrough window of a local McDonalds.
After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward and
stopped momentarily so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her
coffee. (Critics of civil justice, who have pounced on this case, often
charge that Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in
motion when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.) Liebeck placed
the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from
the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled
into her lap.
The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next
to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full
thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body,
including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin
areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she
underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement
treatments, sought to settle her claim for $ 20,000, but McDonalds
refused.
During discovery, McDonalds produced documents showing more than 700
claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992. Some claims
involved third-degree burns substantially similar to Liebecks. This
history documented McDonalds' knowledge about the extent and nature of
this hazard.
McDonalds also said during discovery that, based on a consultants
advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit to
maintain optimum taste. He admitted that he had not evaluated the
safety ramifications at this temperature. Other establishments sell
coffee at substantially lower temperatures, and coffee served at home is
generally 135 to 140 degrees.
Further, McDonalds' quality assurance manager testified that the company
actively enforces a requirement that coffee be held in the pot at 185
degrees, plus or minus five degrees. He also testified that a burn
hazard exists with any food substance served at 140 degrees or above,
and that McDonalds coffee, at the temperature at which it was poured
into styrofoam cups, was not fit for consumption because it would burn
the mouth and throat. The quality assurance manager admitted that burns
would occur, but testified that McDonalds had no intention of reducing
the "holding temperature" of its coffee.
Plaintiffs' expert, a scholar in thermodynamics applied to human skin
burns, testified that liquids, at 180 degrees, will cause a full
thickness burn to human skin in two to seven seconds. Other testimony
showed that as the temperature decreases toward 155 degrees, the extent
of the burn relative to that temperature decreases exponentially. Thus,
if Liebeck's spill had involved coffee at 155 degrees, the liquid would
have cooled and given her time to avoid a serious burn.
McDonalds asserted that customers buy coffee on their way to work or
home, intending to consume it there. However, the companys own research
showed that customers intend to consume the coffee immediately while
driving.
McDonalds also argued that consumers know coffee is hot and that its
customers want it that way. The company admitted its customers were
unaware that they could suffer thirddegree burns from the coffee and
that a statement on the side of the cup was not a "warning" but a
"reminder" since the location of the writing would not warn customers of
the hazard.
The jury awarded Liebeck $ 200,000 in compensatory damages. This amount
was reduced to $ 160,000 because the jury found Liebeck 20 percent at
fault in the spill. The jury also awarded Liebeck $ 2.7 million in
punitive damages, which equals about two days of McDonalds' coffee
sales.
Post-verdict investigation found that the temperature of coffee at the
local Albuquerque McDonalds had dropped to 158 degrees fahrenheit.
The trial court subsequently reduced the punitive award to $ 480,000 --
or three times compensatory damages -- even though the judge called
McDonalds' conduct reckless, callous and willful.
No one will ever know the final ending to this case.
The parties eventually entered into a secret settlement which has never
been revealed to the public, despite the fact that this was a public
case, litigated in public and subjected to extensive media reporting.
Such secret settlements, after public trials, should not be condoned. http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
In the Case Edwards worked on
A child was in a swimming pool that had a pump intake that had NO PROTECTIVE GUARD on it that would have prevented the child to have her GUTS SUCKED out of her
Brother Otter
Nobody got third degree burns from coffee. It's simply not physically possible.
Is it negligent? I seriously doubt it. If the company has a policy of serving coffee very hot and has a specific reason, then no. The hottest that coffee can possibly be is 212degF. Water has to boil to produce coffee. I've poured my own coffee and tea from a boiling pot or one that's boiled recently.
YOU BET
Ok so I'm going to be the asshole that says it the cup says CAUTION HOT!! and I'm pretty sure it also says it in another language so if the woman cant read either English or spanish (i think that's what it is) I think McDonald's should sue her for being a complete moron!! Not to mention ad she been pulled up to the table properly she would've spilled it on the table instead of herself!
LovesTheConstitution
People who have reviewed the case - rather than just repeat some talking points - usually see the appropriateness of the jury's findings.
Before she filed the lawsuit, Stella Leibeck asked for $ 20,000 for compensation for medical bills. Only after McDonald's refused did she file the lawsuit.
Yes, McDonald's required that the liquid be 185 degrees in its restaurants and that approximately 700 other customers had required medical treatment prior to Ms. Leibeck's incident.
And the jury awarded an amount equal to two days' sales of McCoffee in North American. No, they did not include any amount equal to two days' sales of McEggs or McCrap, just McCoffee. A significant amount of money, but nowhere close to disasterous for McDonald's.
And the appeals court overturned the jury's findings.
Orignal From: In your opinion, was McDonald's act of serving coffee at that temperature legal negligence? ?
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