hot coffee lawsuit

He argued that all foods hotter than 130 °F (54 °C) constituted a burn hazard, and that restaurants had more pressing dangers to worry about. McDonald’s had received more than 700 complaints about burns from hot beverages over the previous ten-year period. Liebeck's attorneys argued that, at 180–190 °F (82–88 °C), McDonald's coffee was defective, claiming it was too hot and more likely to cause serious injury than coffee served at any other establishment. [27], Liebeck died on August 5, 2004, at age 91. [37][38] The New York Times noted how the details of Liebeck's story lost length and context as it was reported worldwide. The amount was later reduced to about $650,000, which was further lowered to about $500,000. Tragedy! [13] Liebeck suffered permanent disfigurement after the incident and was partially disabled for two years. Hot coffee lawsuits have popped up periodically in court ever since Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, better known as the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit of 1994. Among histories of exploding Ford Pintos and Joe Camel, the facts behind Liebeck’s case come to light. After seven days of testimony and four hours of deliberation, the jurors sided with Liebeck. Liebeck's lawyers also presented the jury with expert testimony that 190 °F (88 °C) coffee may produce third-degree burns (where skin grafting is necessary) in about 3 seconds and 180 °F (82 °C) coffee may produce such burns in about 12 to 15 seconds. [2] McDonald's quality control manager, Christopher Appleton, testified that this number of injuries was insufficient to cause the company to evaluate its practices. “I am just astounded at how many people are aware of this case and how many people have a distorted view of the case,” said daughter Judy Allen. Since the was was filed, people have pursued hot coffee claims against not just McDonald’s but Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, Continental Airlines, and other companies. Some restaurants go a bit hotter, up to 160 F; that temperature can cause third-degree burns in 20 seconds, which gives people enough time to wipe it off before it does too much damage. The Real Story Behind the McDonald’s Hot Coffee Lawsuit. “If you’re not as lucky, you will get third-degree or full-thickness burns requiring skin grafting and surgery.” Jurors were given a graphic example of what he was talking about when they were shown photos of Liebeck’s burned groin and skin grafts.

This included news clips, comments from celebrities and politicians about the case, as well as myths and misconceptions, including how many people thought she was driving when the incident occurred and thought that she suffered only minor superficial burns. Since Liebeck, major vendors of coffee, including Chick-Fil-A,[30] Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Wendy's, Burger King,[31] hospitals,[32] and McDonald's[33] have been defendants in similar lawsuits over coffee-related burns. The film also discussed in great depth how Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants is often used and misused to describe a frivolous lawsuit and referenced in conjunction with tort reform efforts. Find the facts of the hot coffee lawsuit interesting? “We wrote a letter to McDonald’s asking them to check the temperature of the coffee and to give recompense for the medical bills.”, “We said, ‘Your machine must be too hot, so look at it, and fix it if it’s broken,’ ” said Liebeck’s son-in-law, Charles Allen.

In 1992, 79-year old Stella Liebeck became the poster child for frivolous litigation after filing a lawsuit against McDonald’s for serving coffee that was too hot. McDonald’s now serves its coffee at a temperature that is 10 degrees lower. McDonald’s responded with an offer of $800. “We knew, before the lawsuit was filed, that the temperature of the water was 190 F or so, and the franchise documents required that of the franchisee,” said Kenneth Wagner, a lawyer who represented Liebeck. A man said, “The woman purchased the coffee and spilled it on herself. ‘Oooh, my coffee was too hot.’ It’s coffee! They also awarded her $2.7 million in punitive damages, which the trial judge reduced to $480,000, even though he called McDonald’s behavior had been “willful, wanton, and reckless.” The final settlement was even less. Here are some of the commonly overlooked facts of the case formally known as Liebeck v. [27], In Bogle v. McDonald's Restaurants Ltd. (2002), a similar lawsuit in England failed when the court rejected the claim that McDonald's could have avoided injury by serving coffee at a lower temperature.[29]. “It must be an aberration. As Scalded by the Media showed, although the original Albuquerque Journal article about the trial ran at 700 words, subsequent pickup and wire-service articles were far shorter and left out important details.

The defense countered that the number of complaints was statistically insignificant, given the billions of cups of McDonald’s coffee sold annually. McDonald’s countered with an offer of $800. Though there was a warning on the coffee cup, the jury decided that the warning was neither large enough nor sufficient. [16] Instead, the company offered only $800. Liebeck was in the passenger's seat of a 1989 Ford Probe which did not have cup holders. [12] She remained in the hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting. They awarded her $200,000 in compensatory damages.

But because she caused the spill, they reduced the amount to $160,000. She sues her way to a $2.7 million jury-awarded jackpot. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), 10 scandals that rocked the fast-food industry, things McDonald’s employees won’t tell you. “That Stella Liebeck needed to defend her reputation is the saddest piece of this whole story to me.”, “I was not in it for the money,” Liebeck said at the time. For similar uses, see, Michael McCann, William Haltom, and Anne Bloom, "LAW & SOCIETY SYMPOSIUM: Java Jive: Genealogy of a Juridical Icon", 56 U. Miami L. Rev. Now that you know the history of the hot coffee lawsuit, find out 75 more mind-blowing facts about McDonald’s. [4] ABC News called the case "the poster child of excessive lawsuits". On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old widow, was in the passenger seat of her grandson’s Ford Probe ordering a Value Meal at the drive-through window of an Albuquerque, New Mexico, McDonald’s.

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