dlazz;647447 wrote:Elaborate
Quint;647904 wrote:I can't remember the exact facts to the case, but the woman had 3rd degree burns all over her stomach, legs, and crotch. I think it even resulted in a Hysterectomy. I believe the coffee served at that McD's was like twice as hot as coffee at surrounding locations. I also agree that the case was decided correctly, but the public's perception of the case has been greatly exaggerated in favor of tort reform. I would also like to say that I'm in law school (so I may be biased), but I'm also in favor of tort reform. No lawyer should have taken the "Fountain Lady's case."
dlazz;648027 wrote:Coffee is hot. When you spill it on yourself it's your fault.
karen lotz;648028 wrote:Yeah, but if the cup its served in doesn't say "Caution: Hot", how are consumers supposed to know?
dlazz;648150 wrote:It's coffee. Coffee is hot.
Here are the basics of the case. Woman buys coffee, spills it, is burned, sues, wins judgment. Public outcry over "klutz does what klutzes do, and McDonald's has to pay".
In reality, the woman (79 years old and 103 pounds at the time) was handed coffee that was kept at a temperature between 180 and 190 degrees, which exceeded the industry standard by over 20 degrees. In addition, neither the cup itself nor the lid was properly insulated to prevent significant heat transfer from the contents to whatever poor bastard happened to grab the cup. So, the customer takes the cup of coffee and, with a lot of heat-related discomfort on the palms of her hands, sets the cup between her knees on the passenger seat. While attempting to remove the lid, the coffee spilled across her upper thighs and, um, nether regions, causing third-degree burns to the immediate area that required skin grafting. She ended up losing 20 pounds (down to 83), and required close to two years of medical treatment.
The case against McDonald's boiled down to the following points:
- McDonald's served coffee substantially hotter than the industry standard in cups that were not meant to handle the high temperatures
- In the previous 10 years, McDonald's had received something like 2,000 complaints and 700 formal complaints over the temperature of their coffee
- McDonald's had also been sued repeatedly over coffee-related burns, and had settled out of court (up to a half-million dollars) every time
- In court, McDonald's conceded that it was not physically possible to consume their coffee at the temperature that it was served
- With the track record of complaints and lawsuits, the woman's lawyer argued that McDonald's' refusal to lower the temperature of their coffee went from simple negligence into recklessness; the company knew there was a serious problem and absolutely refused to do anything about it, even though every other fast food company that served coffee had already taken such measures. Essentially, McDonald's didn't care.
- She won $160,000 in compensatory damages; the extra millions were punitive damages against McDonald's that was calculated to be two days' worth of coffee revenue nationwide
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