First McDonald’s Hot Coffee and now Hot Chocolate
We have of course all heard about the famous case brought against McDonald’s for serving coffee that was so hot that it caused burns to a woman. The case became the rallying cry for tort reformers everywhere. What most people know is that the woman who was burned received a million dollar verdict – does seem crazy, yes? You order hot coffee and if it spills on you, it hurts. Why should anyone receive compensation for that?
Well, the actual McDonald’s case was far more complex and the injuries far greater than most people know. We only got the 60 second sound byte from media outlets. The full, undisputed facts were as follows:
· McDonald’s required its franchisees to hold its coffee at 180 to 190 degrees fareheit.
· Hot coffee at that temperature causes 3rd degree burns (the worst kind of a burn) in 3 to 7 seconds upon contact with human flesh.
· 3rd degree burns don’t heal without painful skin grafts and can leave significant scarring.
· In the famous hot coffee case when the victim (an elderly woman named Stella Liebeck) attempted to open her coffee to add the creamer while the car was stopped, it spilled in her lap and burned her seriously between her legs (2nd and 3rd degree burns) requiring skin grafts and protracted treatment.
· In the 10 years leading up to Ms. Liebeck’s injuries, McDonald’s records confirmed that McDonald’s hot coffee had burned more than 700 people – many receiving serious burns to their inner thighs and genital areas.
Many people, upon hearing the real facts, changed their opinion about the McDonald’s case. But is it only about “hot coffee”? Hot coffee is served to adults and some argue that an adult should expect hot coffee to be hot enough to cause burns. After all, it’s called “hot” coffee, isn’t it? But what if we’re talking instead about Hot Chocolate, which is sold to millions of children every year? Would a child who is 5, 7 or even 9 years old expect their beverage to be so hot that it could cause 2d or 3rd degree burns? Think about it, would their parent or grandparent give them something to drink that could cause such serious injuries? We recently had this exact case involving a cup of hot chocolate bought for a 7 year old girl at a doughnut shop. It spilled when she opened the lid and she received serious burns and golf ball size blisters on her inner thighs as it soaked into her clothes. Can you imagine this happening to your child or grandchild? Would you knowingly serve any loved one a beverage capable of inflicting such serious injuries? Of course you wouldn’t. Yet, there are many fast food establishments that go unregulated and set the temperature to the coffee and hot chocolate machines so high that we still hear of severe injuries resulting from patrons simply being served excessively hot beverages and having no idea that what they hold in their hand is a danger to themselves and others with an accidental spill.
