The McDonald’s Scalding Coffee Case
So we’ve all heard about ridiculous lawsuits and how our country is being ground into the dust by folks refusing to take responsibility for their own dimwitted actions and instead suing folks with deep pockets.
Heck, I’ve chanted that same refrain myself.
The example folks most give of this is the infamous McDonald’s Scalding Coffee Case, where (as the legend goes) some idiot woman is drinking her take-out coffee, spills it, gets a little burn, and sues the snot out of McDonald’s.
Well, check out the link above. Based on the actual case, it paints a very different picture, both of the extent of the injuries, the negligence of the defendent, and the damages awarded.
Sure, it’s the Trial Lawyer Assoc. posting this, but the facts are the facts. Just remember that the next time someone starts bitching on this subject (and that the whole reason why punitive damages were originally allowed was to punish folks/firms for whom compensatory damages were being just written off as a cost of doing business).
The damages link above has been moved here.
On the other hand, consider that home coffee makers make coffee even hotter than McDonald’s, per the recommendations of the National Coffee Association of America, and carafes are also designed to keep it that hot. Never mind the temp of the water in that screaming tea kettle …
The main link has been moved here: http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/xchg/justice/hs.xsl/14627_14633.htm