Transcript:
PP: I just realized that nobody ever seems to sue a corporation because of hot coffee anymore.
GG: well, thats na easy one.
PP: Nobodys going to lawyer schools anymore?
GG: either that or so many people have made the switch to frappaccino delights
Al Nala about 8 years ago
Cuz now they have a WARNING printed on the cup.
bigsnooze about 8 years ago
lawyers still scum of the earth
IQTech61 about 8 years ago
Or McDonald’s learned not to keep their coffee so freaking hot that spilling it could cause third degree burns.
Facts from the case:
McDonald’s operations manual required the franchisee to hold its coffee at 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.Coffee at that temperature, if spilled, causes third-degree burns in three to seven seconds.The chairman of the department of mechanical engineering and biomechanical 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 Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, the leading scholarly publication in the specialty.McDonald’s admitted it had known about the risk of serious burns from its scalding hot coffee for more than 10 years. The risk had repeatedly been brought to its attention through numerous other claims and suits.An expert witness for the company testified that the number of burns was insignificant compared to the billions of cups of coffee the company served each year.At least one juror later told the Wall Street Journal she thought the company wasn’t taking the injuries seriously. To the corporate restaurant giant those 700 injury cases caused by hot coffee seemed relatively rare compared to the millions of cups of coffee served. But, the juror noted, “there was a person behind every number and I don’t think the corporation was attaching enough importance to that.”McDonald’s quality assurance manager testified that McDonald’s coffee, at the temperature at which it was poured into Styrofoam cups, was not fit for consumption because it would burn the mouth and throat.McDonald’s admitted at trial that consumers were unaware of the extent of the risk of serious burns from spilled coffee served at McDonald’s then-required temperature.McDonald’s admitted it did not warn customers of the nature and extent of this risk and could offer no explanation as to why it did not.
Rcwhiting about 8 years ago
DOS Queen, let it go. Do you realize just how long ago that actually happened at McDonalds? Aren’t there enough new issues like emails or tax evasion or terrorists, or drought, or various lives that matter or oil pipelines through native lands, or the Russian fleet, or refugees, or Wikileak news, or the government trying to undermine long standing franchise laws, or the NSA spying on citizens, or maybe having fun on a comics web page versus old news… You get the picture
halvincobbes Premium Member about 8 years ago
Possibly because McDonald’s doesn’t heat their coffee so it gives people third degree burns anymore.
Sailor46 USN 65-95 about 8 years ago
How about Common Sense, Hot Coffee means Hot Coffee. If it’s Hot it’s gonna Burn You. Take a few safety precautions. Who do you sue, if you spill Home Brewed Hot Coffee on yourself in your own home. Yes, I have spilled Hot Coffee on myself, both at home and from retail businesses, I also accepted my own culpability in the accident!
Bill Koenig about 8 years ago
I was called for jury duty once, and the lawyer for the defense asked me my opinion of the McDonald hot coffee case. When I told him my opinion, I was excused from jury duty immediately.
hcarpenter1 about 8 years ago
someone will always be suing someone
Sisyphos about 8 years ago
A. Regrettably, too many people still go to, and even more regrettably graduate from, lawyer schools.
B. I still drink plain old coffee (with cream and sugar), rather than any of those fancy and expensive variations….
So, basically, harumph!