For those of us old enough, we can well remember the infamous hot coffee lawsuit brought against McDonald’s by Stella Liebeck in the 1990s.
A 79-year-old New Mexico woman, Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body when the scorching liquid spilled on her legs and pelvic area. She had to be hospitalized for eight days and underwent several skin grafts and other treatments during a recovery that lasted two years.
Liebeck was a passenger in a car driven by her grandson when the incident happened. While the car was parked, Liebeck reportedly put the coffee cup between her knees and removed the lid to add cream and sugar when she spilled it, resulting in her injuries.
Initially, Liebeck reportedly asked McDonald’s to pay $15,000 to $20,000 to cover her medical expenses. McDonald’s, according to court records, offered her $800 instead. Liebeck also asked McDonald’s to consider lowering the temperature of its coffee, which at the time was served between 180 to 190 degrees. At those temperatures, it was determined that spilled coffee can cause third-degree burns in less than 3 seconds.
When the two parties failed to reach an agreement, Liebeck filed suit with a jury finding in her favor, awarding her $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages for the “willful, wanton, and reckless” behavior by McDonald’s. After the trial judge reduced the punitive damages award to $480,000, the parties settled the matter for a non-disclosed amount.
During the trial, jurors learned that more than 700 people had been injured after spilling coffee from McDonald’s. Most restaurants serve coffee in the 135- to 150-degree temperature range. If the liquid is spilled in that temperature range, it would take nearly 20 seconds to produce third-degree burns, it was disclosed at the trial.
Like a blast from the past, a jury recently told Starbucks to cough up $50 million after a delivery driver named Michael Garcia received third-degree burns to his groin and thighs after spilling a cup of hot tea in 2020.
The lawsuit claimed that the attendant at the drive-thru window “negligently failed to properly” secure the hot tea into a drink carrier, causing it to fall out of the container and into Garcia’s lap. Garcia was hospitalized after the incident and has undergone multiple skin grafts from the burns, and “has lived for five years with the disfigurement, pain, dysfunction, and psychological harm caused by the burns,” according to his lawyers.
As one would expect, Starbucks is appealing the massive jury award, stating that while it has sympathy for Mr. Garcia, the Seattle-based company is not to blame for the injuries he suffered.
I’d be surprised if the two parties don’t reach a settlement to avoid a contentious legal battle and the potentially bad press that would accompany it. However, companies should be reminded that in instances like these, it’s not just the customer who lands in hot water.
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The author is a Judicial Attorney at the Washtenaw County Trial Court; however, the views expressed in this column are her own. She can be reached by e-mailing her at matyjasz@hotmail.com.
A 79-year-old New Mexico woman, Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body when the scorching liquid spilled on her legs and pelvic area. She had to be hospitalized for eight days and underwent several skin grafts and other treatments during a recovery that lasted two years.
Liebeck was a passenger in a car driven by her grandson when the incident happened. While the car was parked, Liebeck reportedly put the coffee cup between her knees and removed the lid to add cream and sugar when she spilled it, resulting in her injuries.
Initially, Liebeck reportedly asked McDonald’s to pay $15,000 to $20,000 to cover her medical expenses. McDonald’s, according to court records, offered her $800 instead. Liebeck also asked McDonald’s to consider lowering the temperature of its coffee, which at the time was served between 180 to 190 degrees. At those temperatures, it was determined that spilled coffee can cause third-degree burns in less than 3 seconds.
When the two parties failed to reach an agreement, Liebeck filed suit with a jury finding in her favor, awarding her $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages for the “willful, wanton, and reckless” behavior by McDonald’s. After the trial judge reduced the punitive damages award to $480,000, the parties settled the matter for a non-disclosed amount.
During the trial, jurors learned that more than 700 people had been injured after spilling coffee from McDonald’s. Most restaurants serve coffee in the 135- to 150-degree temperature range. If the liquid is spilled in that temperature range, it would take nearly 20 seconds to produce third-degree burns, it was disclosed at the trial.
Like a blast from the past, a jury recently told Starbucks to cough up $50 million after a delivery driver named Michael Garcia received third-degree burns to his groin and thighs after spilling a cup of hot tea in 2020.
The lawsuit claimed that the attendant at the drive-thru window “negligently failed to properly” secure the hot tea into a drink carrier, causing it to fall out of the container and into Garcia’s lap. Garcia was hospitalized after the incident and has undergone multiple skin grafts from the burns, and “has lived for five years with the disfigurement, pain, dysfunction, and psychological harm caused by the burns,” according to his lawyers.
As one would expect, Starbucks is appealing the massive jury award, stating that while it has sympathy for Mr. Garcia, the Seattle-based company is not to blame for the injuries he suffered.
I’d be surprised if the two parties don’t reach a settlement to avoid a contentious legal battle and the potentially bad press that would accompany it. However, companies should be reminded that in instances like these, it’s not just the customer who lands in hot water.
—————
The author is a Judicial Attorney at the Washtenaw County Trial Court; however, the views expressed in this column are her own. She can be reached by e-mailing her at matyjasz@hotmail.com.
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