The Infamous McDonald's Spilled Coffee Case

The facts show McDonald's coffee lawsuit was legit

Many people don't realize what good lawyers and lawsuits can often achieve by bringing cases against the makers of defective or dangerous products.

The elderly woman who was awarded a judgment after being scalded by McDonald's coffee nearly two decades ago has long been used as an example of lawyers' abusing the system.

But when this case comes up in conversation, I like to tell my friends the true facts of the case and not just the ones reported by some of the media at the time.

Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, N.M., was a passenger in her grandson's car when she was severely burned by McDonald's coffee in 1992. Her grandson had pulled over for her to add sugar and creamer to the coffee.

When she tried to pull off the lid, the entire cup spilled, and was held by the sweat pants she was wearing next to her skin.

Liebeck suffered third-degree burns to 6 percent of her body — her inner thighs, groin and buttocks. She was hospitalized for eight days and underwent debridement, the scraping off of dead tissue, and skin grafting. She lost 20 pounds and had two more years of medical treatments to endure.

She initially tried to settle her case for $20,000, but McDonald's refused. It turns out that McDonald's had received complaints from more than 700 people for burns caused by their coffee. Some of the complaints were for third-degree burns, similar to those suffered by Liebeck.

Coffee was excessively hot

McDonald's held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain what it considered optimum taste. The coffee served in most homes is maintained at 135 to 145 degrees.

McDonald's' quality assurance manager testified that the company requires that coffee be held in the pot at 185 degrees. He also testified that a burn hazard exists with any food substance served at 140 degrees or above, and that McDonald's coffee, at the temperature at which it was poured into Styrofoam cups, would burn the mouth and throat.

The quality assurance manager testified that McDonald's had no intention of reducing the holding temperature of its coffee. He said that the 700 burn injuries were insufficient to cause the company to re-evaluate its practices.

The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages, reduced to $160,000 because she was deemed to have been 20 percent at fault. Liebeck also was awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages, about two days' sales of coffee by McDonald's, although the judge ultimately reduced that amount to $480,000.

We don't know how much Liebeck actually received because there was a confidential settlement.

There are arguments that coffee needs to be brewed and held at a hot temperature and that better packaging and more warnings are the solution. But the Liebeck case was much more complicated than the public has always assumed, and it wasn't a frivolous lawsuit.

Written by Barbara Moss, an attorney with the law firm of Norris & Norris PLC.

For a really indepth analysis of the case, check out this cite.

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