It's good mood food!

[HUSKER 37]

Seems like that old thread brought out what may have swayed the jury, was the fact that McDonalds had been warned prior to this up to the corporate level to serve at safer temps, but they made the "Business Decision" to save money (less free refills) by serving it above 180F, thus slowing down customers' consumption.

 

I can't remember for sure but wasn't this case at least partially responsible for the addition of drink holders in most newer cars? Or am I re-inventing History?

[HUSKER 37]

Wish I'd been this interested in Law back when I first heard I had a scholarship at Harvard..

 

 

 

The McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case – Things You Probably Didn’t Know

 

 

On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old Albuquerque, N.M resident, received third degree burns to her thighs, buttocks and groin when she spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee into her lap.

 

Most people assume that she was driving at the time, which is untrue. Her grandson, Chris, had driven the car through the McDonald’s drive thru, and he pulled the car into a parking space and had stopped so that he and Stella could add milk and sugar to their coffee before departing. The car, a 1989 Ford Probe, had no cup holders or other flat surfaces upon which the cup could be rested, so Stella placed the cup between her legs and held it steady with one hand so that she could remove the lid. While trying to remove the lid, Stella spilled the entire contents of the cup into her lap, resulting in severe third degree burns which required skin grafts to treat. The documentary shows photos of the burns, which look more like burns one would receive if someone shoved a burning torch into your crotch.

 

Stella tried to resolve the matter with McDonald’s before obtaining a lawyer. She only wanted McDonald’s to pay the portion of her roughly $10,000.00 in medical bills which were not covered by Medicare. McDonald’s refused, offering only $800.00 to settle her claim. Stella then retained a lawyer and sued McDonald’s for negligence, due to the temperature at which it served its coffee: between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit (which was in accordance with McDonald’s national franchisee policy). Coffee at this temperature is capable of causing third degree burns to exposed skin in a matter of seconds.

The jury found that both McDonald’s and Stella were negligent, allocating 20% of the fault to Stella and 80% to McDonald’s. It awarded Stella $160,000.00 in compensatory damages ($200,000.00 total compensatory damages, reduced by 20% due to Stella’s own negligence) and $2.7 million in punitive damages (roughly the value of 2 days’ of McDonald’s profits from coffee sales). The trial judge reduced the amount of punitive damages to $480,000.00. The case was confidentially settled while pending appeal. So, no, Stella didn’t get millions. Not even $1 million.

 

Hot Coffee shows how this relatively minor lawsuit was conflated into “all that is wrong with the American civil justice system” by the tort reform lobby, with a large assist by the news media, who were either too lazy or corrupt to get the facts of the case straight. If you come away from watching this film thinking that Stella Liebeck was a crass opportunist looking to get rich from a frivolous lawsuit, you weren’t paying attention.

 

The article even mentions something about a case involving Twins in Nebraska if you're interested

[Stumpy1]

People need to grow up and deal with things instead of sueing at the blink of an eye. There is a couple that is trying to sue the school because their daughter got smacked by a younger boy during break. They pulled her out of school because they said she was traumatized and afraid to go back. I don't see where it is the schools fault in this but apparently they think they need to be compensated for it.

[T_O_Bull]

Thats nasty. Why I dont eat at Arbys there food is gross to.

 

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

?????????? WHAT ??????????

['SkersRule]

This dude got a surprise in his Arby's sandwich!

 

Ryan Hart, a 14-year-old boy from Michigan, had a rude surprise when he bit into his Arby's roast beef sandwich. "I was like, 'that's got to be a finger,'" he told the Jackson Citizen Patriot. "It was just nasty."

 

Reportedly, a restaurant employee cut off her finger with a meat slicer while preparing the meal. She left her station to deal with the emergency, and other employees, who were unaware of the injury, continued to complete the order.

 

"Somebody loses a finger and you keep sending food out the window," said the teen's mom, Jamie Vail. "I can't believe that." She added that following the gruesome discovery, her son was "traumatized," couldn't eat or sleep, and had been prescribed medication Fox News reports.

 

http://shine.yahoo.c...-133500879.html

 

When I said I wanted your digits I meant your phone number...

 

Well I'm not pointing a finger but clearly this woman is short a digit mentally...

 

What, the kid doesn't like finger food?

 

Fingers...the other white meat.