Most people have heard of the case where a woman who spilled coffee on herself sued McDonald’s because the coffee was too hot and won a huge settlement. However, the case was more complex than appeared to the public. The customer, who was 79-years-old, spilled an entire cup of coffee in her lap in 1992 immediately after leaving a drive-through. She suffered burns over six percent of her body and was in the hospital for eight days. While she was in the hospital, she lost 20 percent of her body weight, and endured medical treatments for two years following the accident.
The customer offered to settle with McDonald’s for $20,000, which would have only covered her medical bills, but McDonald’s refused. Finally, she sought a lawyer and sued the company. At trial, evidence was presented that McDonald’s forced its franchises to serve coffee between 180 and 190 degrees, which can cause third-degree burns on skin within two to seven seconds. Most other fast food outlets serve their coffee between 135 and 140 degrees.
Evidence also showed that in a 10-year period prior to the accident, there were approximately 700 other burn cases due to the too-hot coffee, and many of those people suffered third-degree burns, requiring skin grafts. A jury awarded the plaintiff $160,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages, which was reduced to $480,000 by the judge. The verdict was appealed and ultimately the case was settled for less than $600,000.
This case is a perfect example of an ordinary product (coffee) that has been made dangerous (way too hot) by the retailer (McDonald’s). But does this really explain it all? And what has this case meant for others out there? Since legal documentary Hot Coffee by Susan Saladoff premiered on HBO on Monday, June 27, there has been a lot of discussion about these questions and many others. Watch the trailer below:
