McDonald's Coffee Too Hot

Liebeck vs. McDonald's Restaurants also known as the McDonald's coffee case and the hot coffee lawsuit. A 79-year-old woman suffered third-degree burns when she accidentally spilled hot coffee in her lap right after purchasing her coffee from a McDonald's restaurant. Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days while she underwent skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment. She sued McDonald’s and a jury awarded her nearly $3 million in punitive damages for the burns she suffered. The reaction from people was: “Isn’t coffee supposed to be hot?” And “McDonald’s didn’t pour the coffee on her, she spilled it on herself!” She was driving the car and wasn’t paying attention. What really had happened was that Liebeck was not currently driving when her coffee spilled onto her lap, and the car was currently not moving.  She was actually the passenger in a car that was stopped in the parking lot of the McDonald’s where she bought the coffee. She currently had the cup between her knees while removing the lid on the cup to add cream and sugar, that caused the cup to tip over and spilling the entire cup of coffee on her lap. The coffee was not just hot, it was dangerously hot. McDonald’s corporate policy was to serve it at a temperature that could cause serious burns in seconds. “McDonald’s operations manual required the franchisee to hold its coffee at 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.” She was wearing sweatpants that had absorbed the coffee and kept it against her skin. She suffered serious third-degree burns and required skin grafts on her inner thighs and elsewhere. Liebeck had offered to settle the case for $20,000 to cover her medical expenses and any lost income, But McDonald’s did not offer more than $800 making the case go to trial. The jury found Liebeck to be partially at fault for her injuries, reducing the compensation for her injuries accordingly. The original punitive damage award was reduced by more than 80 percent by the judge. Liebeck and McDonald’s later reached a confidential settlement. “McDonald’s admitted it had known about the risk of serious burns from its scalding hot coffee for more than 10 years. The risk had repeatedly been brought to its attention through numerous other claims and suits.”

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

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