According to News, she alleges the company didn't properly fasten the lid of the coffee cup, resulting in the spill and subsequent burns. SmartCompanySmartCompany is Australia's premier publication for growth businesses and entrepreneurs seeking information, advice, news and ideas to help them succeed. We are often quoted on radio, TV, print publications and website on our news and any other issues concerning entrepreneurs and business owners.https://www.smartcompany.com.au › about-us
Stella Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, P.T.S., Inc. and McDonald's International, Inc. The plaintiff, Stella Liebeck (1912–2004), a 79-year-old woman, suffered third-degree burns in her pelvic region when she accidentally spilled coffee in her lap after purchasing it from a McDonald's restaurant.
In 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck bought a cup of takeout coffee at a McDonald's drive-thru in Albuquerque and spilled it on her lap. She sued McDonald's and a jury awarded her nearly $3 million in punitive damages for the burns she suffered. Typical reaction: Isn't coffee supposed to be hot?
The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages -- reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her 20 percent at fault -- and $2.7 million in punitive damages for McDonald's callous conduct. (To put this in perspective, McDonald's revenue from coffee sales alone is in excess of $1.3 million a day.)
A: Yes, you can sue for coffee being too hot. While the Liebeck case is one of the most well-known cases related to hot liquids and personal injury lawsuits, there have been numerous instances of people filing suit over burns caused by coffee or other beverages served at an overly high temperature.
Liebeck spent six months attempting to convince McDonald's to pay $15,000 to $20,000 to cover her medical expenses. McDonald's responded with a letter offering $800. Mrs. Liebeck also asked McDonald's to consider changing the excessive temperature of its coffee so others would not be similarly harmed.
In essence, the jury said that Mrs. Liebeck did carry some blame for her injuries because she held the coffee improperly. At the end of the day, if McDonald's served its coffee at a reasonable temperature, it would have been unlikely that Mrs. Liebeck's injuries would've been so severe.
The Result
The jury reached a verdict which held McDonald's negligent and 80 percent responsible for the accident and Stella negligent and 20 percent responsible. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $200,000 (which was reduced by 20 percent to $160,000 to account for Stella's 20 percent negligence).
Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin. The coffee was heated to somewhere between 180 to 190 degrees. Thus begain the story of the infamous McDonald's hot coffee case.
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The case gained national attention, and eventually settled out of court. But how many people actually sued McDonald's? The answer is: more than 700. In 1992, Stella Liebeck spilled coffee on herself at a McDonald's drive-thru and suffered third-degree burns.
Punitive Damages for the Spilled Coffee
McDonald's cared more about coffee sales than it did about anything else. The jury found that the company failed to warn customers of the possibility of injuries, even though hundreds of people had suffered second degree burns and other lesser burns from its coffee spilled.
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Stella Liebeck never regained the strength and energy she had before she was burned. She passed away in 2004, at the age of 91. McDonald's now serves its coffee at a temperature that is 10 degrees lower.
Though Liebeck received significant injuries requiring hospitalization and skin grafts, the media at the time focused on the punitive damages she received as a result of the suit because it was so large: $2.7 million.
However, hot coffee can cause a third degree burn; in 1 second at 156ºF , in 2 seconds at 149ºF, in 5 seconds at 140ºF, and in 15 seconds at 133ºF. Prevention: Keep children away from hot liquids, including hot water taps. Don't put hot liquids on table cloths or placements.
Man Sued McDonald's for Making Him Fat ... and Won!
Here's the bizarre story of a man who sued McD for making him fat ... and won! A former manager of a McDonald's franchise in Porto Allegre, Brazil, sued the hamburger chain for making him gain 65 pounds while he worked with them for over a dozen years.
Every one of our McDonald's burgers is made with 100% pure beef and cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else—no fillers, no additives, no preservatives. We use the trimmings of cuts like the chuck, round and sirloin for our burgers, which are ground and formed into our hamburger patties.
If anything, the McDonald brothers just made a classic business mistake: cashing out too soon. It seems that the McDonald brothers were financially successful even before they met Kroc. In 1954, their single restaurant in San Bernardino netted them $100,000, or $900,000 in today's dollars.
But the movie says that at the end, the McDonald's brothers wanted some percentage of future profits and that there was a handshake deal for that. But that the brothers never got the money.
CEO of McDonald's apologizes after controversial texts about 2 slain children : NPR.
Maurice McDonald died from heart failure in Riverside, California, on December 11, 1971, at the age of 69. Richard McDonald died in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 14, 1998 of a heart attack, at the age of 89.
We use wild-caught Alaska Pollock for our Filet-O-Fish® sandwich in the U.S., which is 100% sourced from sustainable fisheries. Why is sustainable fish so important to us? Because it helps protect our oceans—something that's important to you.
McDonald's Chicken McNuggets® are made with all white meat chicken and no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The chicken, which is cut from the tenderloin, breast and rib, gets mixed with a marinade for flavor and to help the Chicken McNuggets® keep their fun shapes.