![]() In response, McDonald’s ran a smear campaign in order to devalue the woman’s injuries and subsequent lawsuit. On the contrary, Liebeck had a justified lawsuit-her claim was only the latest in a string of 700 lawsuits related to the temperature of McDonald’s coffee. To this day, many people believe that Liebeck scammed McDonald’s. The trial gained national attention and put Liebeck in the middle of what many deemed a frivolous lawsuit. Why Corporations Refuse to Tell the Truth The judgement was ultimately reduced to $640,000. The case was brought before a jury, who awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages and medical expenses, as well as $2.7 million in punitive damages. McDonald’s decided to fight the claim rather than settle, delaying her relief for months.īecause of the company’s multiple refusals to settle, Liebeck was forced to sue them for what she needed to survive. ![]() At one point, Liebeck indicated that she was willing to settle for $20,000. Liebeck continued to plead with McDonald’s for months, asking them to pay for a portion of the extensive surgeries and treatment she required as a result of her third-degree burns. Liebeck was only looking to recoup the expenses of her out-of-pocket medical care, but McDonald’s refused to help. She was hospitalized for eight days and required skin graft surgery to treat the damage. The elderly woman was hospitalized with full-thickness burns covering six percent of her body. The clothing she was wearing absorbed the coffee, holding it against her skin and covering her genital area and thighs in severe burns. She pulled on the lid to remove it, but the entire cup of coffee spilled onto her lap. She was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, but her grandson had pulled over so she could add sugar and creamer. Liebeck was with her grandson (who was driving) when she received the coffee from the drive-thru window. The excessive heat was part of a McDonald’s promotion where they promised commuters that their coffee would still be hot by the time it got to their desks. The TruthĪccording to the lawsuit, the coffee served to the 79-year-old Liebeck was as hot as 180 to 190 degrees-for reference, the optimal drinking temperature for hot beverages is around 140-150 degrees. Over time, it became a punchline, a way for people at parties to bemoan how America’s legal system have declined to the point that you can “sue over a spilled cup of coffee.”Īt least, that’s the story most of America has heard. It became known as the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit-a story of America’s court system gone wild, an illustration of the excesses of a litigious culture where no one takes responsibility for their own actions. ![]() She then sued McDonald’s over the spilled coffee, winning her case and forcing the global fast food chain to pay for the enormous amount of damages. As the story goes, she was driving her vehicle when the coffee spilled. View full episodes at PBS.org/RetroReport.You may have heard the story of Stella Liebeck, who in 1992, spilled hot coffee on her lap and took legal action against McDonald’s. Wake Forest University Professor John Llewellyn calls Liebeck’s lawsuit the most misunderstood story in America. But cleverness came at the expense of context, and despite some more detailed reports that offered greater context and a new perspective, such as the documentary Hot Coffee, most people still don’t know the extent of Liebeck’s injuries. The headlines, referring to an elderly grandmother spilling coffee from McDonald’s and winning millions of dollars, practically wrote themselves. Stella became a symbol for frivolous lawsuits and fodder for talk show hosts, late night comedians, sitcom writers, and even political pundits. They also learned that McDonald’s had received nearly 700 complaints about hot coffee burns in the almost 10 years before Stella’s trial.īut those details went mostly unreported, and the public made a quicker judgment. They learned that she was burned over 16% of her body, and had third degree burns on her groin. Jurors heard testimony for a week and deliberated for hours. The jury awarded her $2.9 million dollars. She spilled the coffee, was burned, and a year later, sued McDonald’s. In 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck ordered coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The long-running debate over frivolous lawsuits took shape years ago after McDonald’s coffee spilled into a woman’s lap and she was awarded millions in damages.
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