Do you remember the lady that spilled McDonalds Coffee?

[chippie]

A friend's father was the burn expert in the case. This recent report tells the truth about what really happened in the courtroom.

http://www.upworthy.com/ever-hear-a...t-mcdonalds-then-sued-for-millions?g=3&c=ufb2

There are some graphic photos of the poor woman's burns : (

 

[greybeard]

Key words:
"Lady that spilled coffee on HERSELF"
ice is cold--coffee is hot--we all learned that when we were about 5 years old---well, most of us.

 

[chippie]

Did you watch the video? Do you know what really happened?
Did you see all of the reports where McDonalds had already paid people who were burnt by their coffee? There were a lot of lies told.

You disappoint me greybeard. The coffee did not need to be so hot that it caused third degree burns. The woman was 70 years old and the coffee spilled as she was trying to open the top so that she could drink it.

 

[Shantilly]

whats even sadder is she died and still people were condemning her the final pay out wasn't anywhere near what was asked for, the judge lowered it. She never wanted the money in the first place..she wanted McDonalds and other places to be accountable for their lack of concern for customer safety... even after ALL of that.. still didn't make a difference

 

[Bigfoot]

I knew the amount was lowered. I wasn't sure how much. Seeing the severity of her burns, and the families spin on it does alter your perception.

 

[Alan]

I remember the case well, I was in a second year business law class at the time, no I'm not a lawyer, the classes were part of my business degree. My law professor had stated in class the the law suit was not about the coffee being spilled as much as McDonald's requiring to coffee to be so hot, 180 to 190 degrees. the reason for such hot coffee is so more coffee aroma is spread around the restuarant to encourage sales. The coffee is lethal hot just as an attempt to increase sale.

I quit watching the video at the burns.

 

[greybeard]

I've seen the pictures before--this isn't the first forum the case has been discussed on. There are some basics in life-electrical wall outlets will kill you if you stick a apair of tweezers in them--knives and scissors are sharp--don't run with them.
The woman was 70--that's simply a red herring. You'd think in 6+ decades, she would have learned one of the basics in life. Both my sisters and both my brothers-in-law are over 70 and I'm not far from it. We know something. Coffee is hot. I just warmed some up for 1 minute in the microwave--guess what? It came out boiling hot--just like it's supposed to--just like I knew it would. If I splill it on MYSELF I am not going to sue GE because they made the microwave. The judge lowered the award because he understood, she had to bear at least part of the blame--it isn't like the McD's employee threw it on her.
She spilled it on herself, found a sympathetic judge and jury and now, when I go thru a drive thru in the mornings and get a cup of coffe in January, I get a cup of coffee that is pizz warm, because this woman was successful in her lawsuit. Welcome to the nanny state.
Play stupid games--win stupid prizes.

 

[Dave]

I've seen the pictures before--this isn't the first forum the case has been discussed on. There are some basics in life-electrical wall outlets will kill you if you stick a apair of tweezers in them--knives and scissors are sharp--don't run with them.
The woman was 70--that's simply a red herring. You'd think in 6+ decades, she would have learned one of the basics in life. Both my sisters and both my brothers-in-law are over 70 and I'm not far from it. We know something. Coffee is hot. I just warmed some up for 1 minute in the microwave--guess what? It came out boiling hot--just like it's supposed to--just like I knew it would. If I splill it on MYSELF I am not going to sue GE because they made the microwave. The judge lowered the award because he understood, she had to bear at least part of the blame--it isn't like the McD's employee threw it on her.
She spilled it on herself, found a sympathetic judge and jury and now, when I go thru a drive thru in the mornings and get a cup of coffe in January, I get a cup of coffee that is pizz warm, because this woman was successful in her lawsuit. Welcome to the nanny state.
Play stupid games--win stupid prizes.

Greybeard, you should be a witness in this trial I get to testify in this morning. A guy taking his neighbor to court over problems he created himself........ Well I might get to testify this morning......

 

[highgrit]

Greybeard you beat me to it. My Dad is 86 and he goes to McDonalds for coffee a lot. He drinks it black and hot, he gets them to heat his up every morning for him. A good looking waitress spilled hot coffee on me 29 years ago, and we've had a couple of kids together. When I jumped up she seen she wanted me.

 

[john250]

Greybeard you beat me to it. My Dad is 86 and he goes to McDonalds for coffee a lot. He drinks it black and hot, he gets them to heat his up every morning for him. A good looking waitress spilled hot coffee on me 29 years ago, and we've had a couple of kids together. When I jumped up she seen she wanted me.

Yeah, I'm sure that was it.

 

[herofan]

It's always good to know both sides of a story. I hadn't thought of this for a long time, but I remember everyone thought it was a joke at the time, and I remember it was told that she was driving with the coffee between her legs. I must say, I see it in a different light now.

 

[Isomade]

I have not read the link, nor any comments except Chippies. I will say that I had to do an indepth analysis of the case for a law class in college. My professor was the county judge and I got a lot of information not granted to the public. It certainly is not black and white for either side and studying the case with all facts, and not just those presented by the media changed my views. I can remember one thing in particular- The coffee at this particular location was so hot the bottom 1/3 of the cup had begun to dis-form from beginning to melt the styrofoam cup.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I have not read the link, nor any comments except Chippies. I will say that I had to do an indepth analysis of the case for a law class in college. My professor was the county judge and I got a lot of information not granted to the public. It certainly is not black and white for either side and studying the case with all facts, and not just those presented by the media changed my views. I can remember one thing in particular- The coffee at this particular location was so hot the bottom 1/3 of the cup had begun to dis-form from beginning to melt the styrofoam cup.

That's pretty darn hot.

 

[Caustic Burno]

whats even sadder is she died and still people were condemning her the final pay out wasn't anywhere near what was asked for, the judge lowered it. She never wanted the money in the first place..she wanted McDonalds and other places to be accountable for their lack of concern for customer safety... even after ALL of that.. still didn't make a difference

Horse Syht if she hadn't wanted the money she would have never sued for it.
As far as her age goes she should have been smart enough by decades not to be playing with hot coffee in the car.
More I am a victim and my ship is about to come in.

 

[Tim/South]

She originally asked McDonalds to help her with her medical expenses. They would not.
She did not sue for millions. The jury awarded her millions and the judge cut it down to a fraction of that. The jury said they judgement came from the money McDonalds made in coffee sales in 2 days.
McDonalds admitted their coffee was too hot to drink, but it stayed hotter longer. It melted the dang cup.
Had McDonalds helped with her medical bills, then the case would not have gone this far.
McDonalds admitted they had settled with many others prior to this instance, that it was worth it because they sold more coffee than any other competitor because it stayed hotter longer.

The jury, not the old lady, decided the amount in damages after hearing the testimony.

 

[Bigfoot]

My wife slipped and fell on some ice cream in a place of business. Nothing home owned and operated. She broke her knee cap. Our health insurance wouldn't pay, they said the store should. The store sent us a letter that they didn't feel responsible, they didn't spill the ice cream. It left only one option legal action. We decided to just pay it ourselves. Sueing didn't seem the right thing to do, plus we didn't want to be the talk of the town. In the end it was very expensive. I'm not saying we are better than this lady, sometimes you just get forced in a corner. I sometimes wish we had pursued getting the medical bills paid for. It was about equal to the new disc mower that I need, but can't afford.

 

[Nesikep]

Greybeard you beat me to it. My Dad is 86 and he goes to McDonalds for coffee a lot. He drinks it black and hot, he gets them to heat his up every morning for him. A good looking waitress spilled hot coffee on me 29 years ago, and we've had a couple of kids together. When I jumped up she seen she wanted me.

Yeah, I'm sure that was it.

Well if cold water causes shrinkage.. maybe hot water does the opposite?

 

[Shantilly]

i took my son to McDonalds for breakfast on our way to drop him off at his g/f's house... I like hot coffee,,but DANG... It took me about 30 mins before i could go near the cup i order and thats with adding sugar and 2 creamers... i think they have a problem with that burner... Coffee should be hot..but if I had spilled any.. they filled the cup almost to the top... it sure would've been ugly and no i wouldn't sought damages or anything like that..but i'd have some more scars on this already scarred body

 

[chippie]

Horse Syht if she hadn't wanted the money she would have never sued for it.
As far as her age goes she should have been smart enough by decades not to be playing with hot coffee in the car.
More I am a victim and my ship is about to come in.

Did you watch the video?
She was not playing with the coffee. It spilled when she was trying to get it open to drink it.
Did you read her letter to McDonalds asking for help for paying her $10K hospital bill and McD's offered her $800?
That is why she sued. To cover her medical expenses. The jury decided the amount that was awarded, not her.

Some of these remarks that folks have made are very callous. How would you all have felt if a member of your family was as seriously harmed as she was by a simple cup of coffee that was so hot that the shock of the burns caused the person to pass out and had to be rushed to the ER.

What if it had spilled on a young child by accident. Would you still feel the same way?

The point is that yes, coffee is hot, but it should not be so hot as to cause bodily injury. McDs brews it at such high temps to extract every last little bit of coffee out of the bean. Not just to make a good cup of joe.

 

[TexasBred]

Wonder why her Medicare didn't cover it? It was in existence then and she was 70 years old right?