That Lady That Sued McDonald’s Over A Coffee Spill…
Posted on July 3, 2007
Filed Under News
One of the most heard-about lawsuits is Liebeck v. McDonalds. Remember that “1992 case against McDonald’s brought by a woman who burned herself when she spilled coffee on her lap?”1 The language of this sentence along with the subject of the article–frivolous lawsuits–shows the attitude of the media toward the lawsuit, which is the reason that so many people recall it in conversation as “that dumb coffee lawsuit.”
However, the American Association for Justice’s fact sheet from the lawsuit2 paints a different picture. Among other facts presented in the trial are these: 1) The coffee temperature was held at 185 degrees while a “full thickness” burn can be caused by any liquid at 180 degrees, 2) Liebeck suffered 3rd degree burns “on her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas,” and 3) Liebeck “was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting and debridement treatments (the surgical removal of tissue)’ (American Association for Justice, 2006).
What do you think now? Was it worth millions of dollars? What if I told you that the defendant originally requested to settle for $20,000 and McDonald’s refused? Follow the link to the McDonald’s Coffee Case below for some factual details from the case like these:
1) During discovery, McDonald’s 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 Liebeck’s. This history documented McDonald’s knowledge about the extent and nature of this hazard.
2) McDonald’s own quality assurance manager testified that a burn hazard exists with any food substance served at 140 degrees or above and that McDonald’s coffee was not fit for consumption because it would burn the mouth and throat.
3) The quality assurance manager further 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 while burns would occur, McDonald’s had no intention of reducing the “holding temperature” of its coffee.
—Adapted from:
Henderson, D. G. (2007, June). Bias in the media. [Discussion 2]. Message posted to https://secure.waldenu.edu/
- Pearle, L. (May 02, 2007). ‘I’m being sued for what?’ ABC News. Retrieved June 28, 2007, from http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3121086&page=1. [↩]
- McDonald’s scalding coffee case (2006). American Association for Justice. Retrieved June 28, 2007, from http://www.atla.org/pressroom/FACTS/frivolous/McdonaldsCoffeecase.aspx [↩]
Comments
3 Responses to “That Lady That Sued McDonald’s Over A Coffee Spill…”
Leave a Reply
Great article. Keep them coming!
A lot of people complained that she didn’t deserve the money, but that wasn’t the point. The courts awarded the money because that’s how much it takes to get the attnetion of a company as large as McDonald’s. Great post!
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title | FiLCHeRS. Thanks for informative article