Current Events > Annual reminded that the Mcdonalds hot coffee lawsuit was legit

(+) Yeah! (+)

It was featured on the news and joked about on heavily late night shows. Like, ALL of them. Leno is singled out because a lot of people dislike him, but she was mocked on Letterman and Conan too.

There was a doc on Netflix that brought a lot of attention to it. It's now commonly accepted that she was in the right, but it sucks that it took over 20 years for it to be.

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RadiantJoyrock posted...

Nah, I'm 35 but I never saw it on news over in America:/

I mean, I never saw it on the news either (also American), I just remember it being a joke I'd hear in cartoons and late night shows.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Florida people are wild lol

Hayame Zero posted...

It was featured on the news and joked about on heavily late night shows. Like, ALL of them. Leno is singled out because a lot of people dislike him, but she was mocked on Letterman and Conan too.

There was a doc on Netflix that brought a lot of attention to it. It's now commonly accepted that she was in the right, but it sucks that it took over 20 years for it to be.

It was a result of two things:

1. Most people not knowing shit about tort law, and

2. The omission or downplaying of the extent of the woman's injuries.

Couple those things and you get the deluge of "Lol, of course coffee is hot."

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_Rinku_ posted...

I mean, I never saw it on the news either (also American), I just remember it being a joke I'd hear in cartoons and late night shows.

Oh yeah I know the joke, never knew it was based on something real :(

Unsugarized_Foo posted...

She was even fair. Just pay the medical bills.

McDonald's said, 'fuck you you old vagina fused bitch. The cup says it's hot coffee dumb bitch, like wtf. You want how much because you're so fucking stupid? Let me tell the world how fucking stupid your dumb ass is and fuck you.'

And if they had just sent that instead of what they actually did, it would have been a better time for the poor old lady who literally just wanted coffee.

Now you think that'd bad, now imagine McDonds attitude toward it's employees wanting a raise.

I stopped eating their until their current CEO took over

I don't eat meat, but they put beef stock in their french fries so I don't eat there. I used to enjoy fries and a strawberry smoothie before I found out their fries weren't vegetarian (who'da thunk). Now I don't eat there at all.

Im not supporting McDonalds here, but its weird to me so many people care the coffee was so hot when if something shitty happened to someone like this nowadays and yoh posted it, the majority would be lile, Fair next.

As in, shouldnt have spilled hot coffee on yourself. That makes it her fault. She made a mistake and didnt want to take responsibility for her action.

Does it suck, yeah, but it wasnt McD that spilled it on her. If the employee had dropped it through her car window or not had a lid on it or something directly spilling it, its a different story.

This is mostly satire, but truly thats the attitude on these boards most of the time.

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RadiantJoyrock posted...

Oh yeah I know the joke, never knew it was based on something real :(

A lot of things are like that! Like, stuff you'd never think was real or possibly offensive to someone.

Some other examples:

When someone rips you off and you say they "jipped/gypped" you. This is derived from stereotypes about "gypsies" (which in itself, I've learned, is an offensive term and a lot of groups classified under that prefer the term "Roma") ripping people off. I've seen some people claim that it's derived from "gypsum" but a lot of the research I've seen points to that being an apocryphal explanation.

"Eskimo" is also kind of suspect because people use it as a catch all for all indigenous people living in the polar regions. Eskimo is the name of at least one group of them, so it's kind of like calling all Asian people "Chinese." Just comes off as ignorant.

These are both things that I would hear in TV shows, cartoons, even textbooks growing up that I never really questioned. If you have a living, elderly grandparent, ask them what they used to call Brazil Nuts back in the day.

PrideOfLion posted...

They haven't used beef tallow in their fries for like 30 years, it's 100% vegetable oil

That's true, but they add "beef flavor" to the fries in the U.S. I'm fairly certain that they don't do this in any other countries, so the fries aren't vegetarian here at least.

E32005 posted...

its weird how this case is brought up monthly on CE

It's because of people like @FantasticAssGas

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Conker posted...

Im not supporting McDonalds here, but its weird to me so many people care the coffee was so hot when if something shitty happened to someone like this nowadays and yoh posted it, the majority would be lile, Fair next.

As in, shouldnt have spilled hot coffee on yourself. That makes it her fault. She made a mistake and didnt want to take responsibility for her action.

Does it suck, yeah, but it wasnt McD that spilled it on her. If the employee had dropped it through her car window or not had a lid on it or something directly spilling it, its a different story.

This is mostly satire, but truly thats the attitude on these boards most of the time.

Difference here is her dropping the coffee was a legitimate accident, no negligence on her part, so she's completely reasonable in suing when the injuries resulting from it are so much more severe than they should've been.

RadiantJoyrock posted...

Difference here is her dropping the coffee was a legitimate accident, no negligence on her part, so she's completely reasonable in suing when the injuries resulting from it are so much more severe than they should've been.

Negligence on her part wouldn't preclude recovery (New Mexico was and still is a "pure" comparative fault jurisdiction), so whether she was negligent goes only to the question of calculating compensatory damages to be awarded.

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CanuckCowboy posted...

It was kept way way too hot so it would stay fresh a while longer. The pictures of her burns are brutal.

CM_Ponch posted...

Her vagina was melted shut

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Conker posted...

Im not supporting McDonalds here, but its weird to me so many people care the coffee was so hot when if something shitty happened to someone like this nowadays and yoh posted it, the majority would be lile, Fair next.

As in, shouldnt have spilled hot coffee on yourself. That makes it her fault. She made a mistake and didnt want to take responsibility for her action.

Does it suck, yeah, but it wasnt McD that spilled it on her. If the employee had dropped it through her car window or not had a lid on it or something directly spilling it, its a different story.

This is mostly satire, but truly thats the attitude on these boards most of the time.

Which is how people reacted at the time. Before people knew full details.

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Conker posted...

Im not supporting McDonalds here, but its weird to me so many people care the coffee was so hot when if something shitty happened to someone like this nowadays and yoh posted it, the majority would be lile, Fair next.

As in, shouldnt have spilled hot coffee on yourself. That makes it her fault. She made a mistake and didnt want to take responsibility for her action.

Does it suck, yeah, but it wasnt McD that spilled it on her. If the employee had dropped it through her car window or not had a lid on it or something directly spilling it, its a different story.

This is mostly satire, but truly thats the attitude on these boards most of the time.

I tend to agree with this.
I'm sure there are good legal arguments here that supersede all commonsense...but she nonetheless spilled the stuff on herself.

So there's a larger element of consumer culture to be ridiculed here that we somehow have this need to go to a fast food drive thru for coffee (instead of sitting down at a counter or something), and not only that, put the cup between our legs to hold it while we try and open it. Like "oh of course something like that would happen in the USA"

St0rmFury posted...

It's because of people like @FantasticAssGas

What do I have to do with this?

I never posted this news, I didn't sell the coffee

Ric Flair had to go to the ER for a McDonald's coffee burn right before that too.

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CommonGrackle posted...

I'm sure there are good legal arguments here that supersede all commonsense...but she nonetheless spilled the stuff on herself

Common sense would dictate that people spilling thing, especially in a vehicle, is an event reasonably likely to occur.

Common sense would further dictate that a near boiling temperature liquid would be very likely to cause significant burns if spilled.

Common sense would even further dictate that it would be prudent to take reasonable care to not aggravate the outcome of an event reasonably likely to occur.

The case was not a result of arcane legal doctrines that "supersede common sense."

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ThePieReborn posted...

Common sense would dictate that people spilling thing, especially in a vehicle, is an event reasonably likely to occur.

Common sense would further dictate that a near boiling temperature liquid would be very likely to cause significant burns if spilled.

Common sense would even further dictate that it would be prudent to take reasonable care to not aggravate the outcome of an event reasonably likely to occur.

The case was not a result of arcane legal doctrines that "supersede common sense."

Iirc it was demonstrated that coffee that hot is not actually consumable as well. Which really makes it pretty obvious they kept it far too hot.

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I didn't say the law was arcane. I just don't know why people have to go to fast food places for coffee which necessitates having to keep it boiling so it can be served instantly.
but I guess the answer is "because they can".
well I then guess democracy has to protect the stupid people too.

CanuckCowboy posted...

Iirc it was demonstrated that coffee that hot is not actually consumable as well. Which really makes it pretty obvious they kept it far too hot.

If you go to a slightly upscale diner or some brunchy place, you'll often get served a french press with coffee in it. That coffee is the same temperature as the McDonald's coffee was. Are these places being negligent?

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The answer is "maybe." Because the resolution of questions of fact only binds within the same matter, and the issues of breach, causation, and damages are questions of fact.

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So was the almost boiling hot coffee a thing that that one location was doing or was it a company-wide practice?

It seems like itd be an easier path for the company to just settle with the woman and publicly lay the blame on the workers/management of that location.

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The woman should basically be the owner of McDonald's after that shit.

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COVxy posted...

If you go to a slightly upscale diner or some brunchy place, you'll often get served a french press with coffee in it. That coffee is the same temperature as the McDonald's coffee was. Are these places being negligent?

This is absolutely untrue lol french press coffee is brewed at a ridiculous high temp (190ish) but should be served at around 150-160. French press coffee cools down really fast when you pour it and most places will keep mugs on warmers to keep some of the heat, but it still drops below 175 very quickly. Any place that is serving coffee above 175 is insane and ruining their coffee. 140 - 155 is the sweet spot for coffee.
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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

The woman should basically be the owner of McDonald's after that shit.

Hundreds of billions of a dollars, really?

Yeah French press coffee shouldn't be served immediately after it has hot water added to brew. And that cools down quickly when you leave it sit to brew and then plunger it so it isn't anywhere near that temperature.

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FantasticAssGas posted...

Hundreds of billions of a dollars, really?

Warned, haw haw.

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FantasticAssGas posted...

Have you guys stopped supporting McDonald's since?

I probably should.
Where the f an i gonna get good latte in the morning or cheap 1$ drinks...
Oh well quicktrip i guess.

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Smashingpmkns posted...

This is absolutely untrue lol french press coffee is brewed at a ridiculous high temp (190ish) but should be served at around 150-160. French press coffee cools down really fast when you pour it and most places will keep mugs on warmers to keep some of the heat, but it still drops below 175 very quickly. Any place that is serving coffee above 175 is insane and ruining their coffee. 140 - 155 is the sweet spot for coffee.

Lmao, take a temp wand to your french press and see how long it takes to cool down. Most restaurants brew it fresh which is the appeal, they plunge and then bring you the press.

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How can anyone not know coffee is served hot?

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covxy just hates this woman with a passion, they do this in literally every topic about her.

It's so fucking weird

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iPhone_7 posted...

So was the almost boiling hot coffee a thing that that one location was doing or was it a company-wide practice?

It seems like itd be an easier path for the company to just settle with the woman and publicly lay the blame on the workers/management of that location.

It's been a while since I read about it, but I think it was company wide. They also decreased the temperature for their coffee for a little bit after the lawsuit, only to increase it slowly back up later.

Also I didn't see anyone mention it specifically, but the McDonald's rep that testified at the trial admitted that there were other cases of coffee spills burning people and he basically said they weren't going to change their practice.

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I mean, McDonalds should have paid for this woman's injuries, because like why not, but the idea that injuries are proof of negligence is nonsensical, which is the only reason ever provided here.

"Dude, have you seen the pictures?"

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Perhaps your company should be held liable for putting a Keurig in the break room, as they brew that incredibly shitty single cup of coffee at 192 degrees.

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COVxy posted...

I mean, McDonalds should have paid for this woman's injuries, because like why not, but the idea that injuries are proof of negligence is nonsensical, which is the only reason ever provided here.

"Dude, have you seen the pictures?"

Like, i see examples of restaurants and coffee shops serving coffee this hot all the time, so I don't know why for this one instance it's negligence but we will actively ignore all the rest. The clover press from Starbucks almost certainly will serve coffee at brew temp, since the cup is brewed right before handing it to customers.

Except her lawyer won the case with the argument that it was unreasonably, dangerously hot and much hotter than other places kept their coffee.

So....

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CanuckCowboy posted...

Except her lawyer won the case with the argument that it was unreasonably, dangerously hot and much hotter than other places kept their coffee.

So....

I mean, a lawyer winning a case is a very twisted gauge for the truth.

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COVxy posted...

I mean, a lawyer winning a case is a very twisted gauge for the truth.

Not really.

Damn I didnt know that til now, sad how people fall for propaganda so easily also how the media will skew the story so its more viewable

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COVxy posted...

Lmao, take a temp wand to your french press and see how long it takes to cool down. Most restaurants brew it fresh which is the appeal, they plunge and then bring you the press.

And I would be proven right if I did? Lol come on man.
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