Delish participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. McDonald’s burgers and fries have made them famous, but that’s not all they have to offer. She bought the coffee, she spilled it on herself and now, look, she’s … But if you started eating the golden potato sticks before 1990, we suspect you’ve noticed that something’s different now. The coffee spilled, causing “severe burning to her genitalia,” said her lawyer, Nicholas “Butch” Wagner, in an interview Friday. McDonalds admitted that they had not studied the dangers associated with these high temperatures. It was found that other fast food restaurants sold their coffee at significantly lower temperatures. They had settled all lawsuits out of … Ms. Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days for treatment of the burns. Such secret settlements are common and are allowed under the laws of contracts but it does prevent the public from ever learning the final results of a public trial. When the cups were handed to Fino, she alleges, one of the lids wasn’t safely secured. Coffee served by people in their homes was in the 135-140 degree range. McDonalds originally claimed that customers intended to consume the coffee after they got to work or home at which time the coffee would have cooled down. As the temperature of the liquid fell to 155 degrees the likelihood of a burn injury would fall exponentially. Today is National Voter Registration Day! This settlement which the parties agreed would remain secret, has never been revealed to the public despite the fact that the case received extensive public reporting. Dr. Weiman's website is www.medicalmalpracticeandthelaw.com. McDonald's current policy is to serve coffee at 176–194 °F (80–90 °C), relying on more sternly worded warnings on cups made of rigid foam to avoid future liability, though it continues to face lawsuits over hot coffee. (Most people assumed that was the end of the story, but it wasn't. Even the United States Supreme Court has opted to limit punitive damages to single digit ratios to compensatory damages for several tort and contract cases. 1992: Stella Liebeck receives third-degree burns from coffee purchased at a McDonald's drive-through. Some of these claims involved full-thickness burns similar to those suffered by Ms. Liebeck. A closer look at the facts of the case and the law reveal that the judge and jury probably made a good decision. I used the new electronic board to order a coffee. McDonald's promotes its coffee … Ms. Liebeck, rather than having the award overturned on appeal, entered into a settlement with McDonalds where she probably agreed to some lesser amount. Make the most of your reading with comments, events and more. The Frappuccino had gotten its name from "frappe," the New England word for "milkshake." The McDonald’s Coffee Case – What Really Happened There is a lot of misinformation floating around concerning the famous McDonald’s coffee case. McDonald's was still selling coffee in competition to Starbucks, but they were selling coffee that Starbucks now made a profit from. Serious Burn Potential Well-Known 700 other people prior to Liebeck had suffered from McDonald’s scalding coffee, yet the company maintained its … Plus, the company's first stand-alone McCafe in Toronto—which serves Americanos and bakes pastries in-house—could be an indicator for the future of McDonald's java. HOPE YOUR LISTENING MCDONALDS, [Kroc] opened up the first restaurant for McDonald’s System, Inc., a predecessor of McDonald’s Corp. in Des Plaines, Illinois in April, 1955. MCDONALD's has stopped selling one of its best-loved drinks - and people are not happy. The states have tried different methods to regulate punitive damages awards including (1) barring punitive damages altogether, (2) allowing punitive damages only when they are allowed by statute, (3) imposing a statutory limit in the form of an absolute monetary cap, and (4) imposing a maximum ratio of punitive to compensatory damages. He has always been a Folgers coffee man, but every so often it was a nice little 'treat' to have a good cup of coffee from Mickey D's. According to Bloomberg, the Golden Arches plans to totally revamp its McCafe concept, which originally launched 8 years ago. They used this temperature based on a consultant's advice that this was the range needed for the best taste. McDonald's has been switching up its menu left and right recently. She placed the cup of coffee between her legs and attempted to remove the lid. 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