The Mc's coffee burn case

[Guest guest]

Mike,

Thank you for showing me the details of this case. Like most who have

heard about the case, I thought the case was outrageous. Having read the

details, I am outraged that Mc's still sells coffee at dangerously

hot temperatures.

DeSiena

--------- Forwarded message ----------

From: " Dr. Freeman " <drmfreeman@...>

" Oregon DCs " < >

Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 12:19:45 -0700

Subject: The Mc's coffee burn case

Message-ID: <008001c10e2c$4697fc00$08fea8c0@...>

Docs,

The reason I did not label this off-topic is because the concept that

there

are too many lawsuits in the US is quite pervasive, and it is used

directly

against many patients in crash injury cases as a general defense. One of

the most notorious cases that is cited in support of the notion that

there

are too many lawsuits is the famous Mc's spilled coffee case. The

insurance industry pounced on this verdict and made it sound like some

stupid woman spilled coffee on herself and then sued Mc's and won

big.

Take a look at the facts in the case below and see if you agree or

disagree.

D Freeman

Mailing address: 2480 Liberty Street NE Suite 180

Salem, Oregon 97303

phone 503 763-3528

fax 503 763-3530

pager 888 501-7328

> ---------------------------------------------

> The " Mc's coffee " case. We have all heard it: a woman spills

Mc's

> coffee, sues and gets $3 million. Here are the facts of this widely

> misreported and misunderstood case:

>

> Stella Liebeck, 79 years old, was sitting in the passenger seat of her

> grandson's car having purchased a cup of Mc's coffee. After the

car

> stopped, she tried to hold the cup securely between her knees while

removing

> the lid. However, the cup tipped over, pouring scalding hot coffee onto

her.

> She received third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body,

necessitating

> hospitalization for eight days, whirlpool treatment for debridement of

her

> wounds, skin grafting, scarring, and disability for more than two

years.

> , The Recorder, September 30, 1994. Despite these extensive

injuries,

> she offered to settle with Mc's for $20,000. However, Mc's

> refused to settle. The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory

damages

> -- reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her 20 percent at fault

--

and

> $2.7 million in punitive damages for Mc's callous conduct. (To

put

this

> in perspective, Mc's revenue from coffee sales alone is in excess

of

> $1.3 million a day.) The trial judge reduced the punitive damages to

> $480,000. Subsequently, the parties entered a post-verdict settlement.

> According to Stella Liebeck's attorney, S. , the jury heard

the

> following evidence in the case:

>

> (1) By corporate specifications, Mc's sells its coffee at 180 to

190

> degrees Fahrenheit;

>

> (2) Coffee at that temperature, if spilled, causes third-degree burns

(the

> skin is burned away down to the muscle/fatty-tissue layer) in two to

seven

> seconds;

>

> (3) Third-degree burns do not heal without skin grafting, debridement

and

> whirlpool treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars and result

in

> permanent disfigurement, extreme pain and disability of the victim for

many

> months, and in some cases, years;

>

> (4) The chairman of the department of mechanical engineering and

> bio-mechanical engineering at the University of Texas testified that

this

> risk of harm is unacceptable, as did a widely recognized expert on

burns,

the

> editor in chief of the leading

> scholarly publication in the specialty, the Journal of Burn Care and

> Rehabilitation;

>

> (5) Mc's admitted that it has known about the risk of serious

burns

> from its scalding hot coffee for more than 10 years -- the risk was

brought

> to its attention through numerous other claims and suits, to no avail;

>

> (6) From 1982 to 1992, Mc's coffee burned more than 700 people,

many

> receiving severe burns to the genital area, perineum, inner thighs, and

> buttocks;

>

> (7) Not only men and women, but also children and infants, have been

burned

> by Mc's scalding hot coffee, in some instances due to inadvertent

> spillage by Mc's employees;

>

> (8) At least one woman had coffee dropped in her lap through the

service

> window, causing third-degree burns to her inner thighs and other

sensitive

> areas, which resulted in disability for years;

>

> (9) Witnesses for Mc's admitted in court that consumers are

unaware

of

> the extent of the risk of serious burns from spilled coffee served at

> Mc's required temperature;

>

> (10) Mc's admitted that it did not warn customers of the nature

and

> extent of this risk and could offer no explanation as to why it did

not;

>

> (11) Mc's witnesses testified that it did not intend to turn down

the

> heat -- As one witness put it: " No, there is no current plan to change

the

> procedure that we're using in that regard right now; "

>

> (12) Mc's admitted that its coffee is " not fit for consumption "

when

> sold because it causes severe scalds if spilled or drunk;

>

> (13) Liebeck's treating physician testified that her injury was one of

the

> worst scald burns he had ever seen.

>

> , The Recorder, September 30, 1994.

>

> Moreover, the Shriner's Burn Institute in Cincinnati had published

warnings

> to the franchise food industry that its members were unnecessarily

causing

> serious scald burns by serving beverages above 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

>

> In refusing to grant a new trial in the case, Judge called

> Mc's behavior " callous. " Moreover, " the day after the verdict,

the

news

> media documented that coffee at the Mc's in Albuquerque [where

Liebeck

> was burned] is now sold at 158 degrees. This will cause third-degree

burns

in

> about 60 seconds, rather than in two to seven seconds [so that], the

margin

> of safety has been increased as a direct consequence of this verdict. "

Id.

>

>

>

>