[geeks] McDonald's facts rather than Conservative Urban Myths

[geeks at sunhelp.org]

> McDonalds also argued that consumers know coffee is hot and that its
> customers want it that way.  The company admitted its customers were
> unaware that they could suffer thirddegree burns from the coffee and
> that a statement on the side of the cup was not a "warning" but a
> "reminder" since the location of the writing would not warn customers of
> the hazard.
> 
> The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages.  This amount
> was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Liebeck 20 percent at
> fault in the spill.  The jury also awarded Liebeck $2.7 million in
> punitive damages, which equals about two days of McDonalds' coffee
> sales.
> 
> Post-verdict investigation found that the temperature of coffee at the
> local Albuquerque McDonalds had dropped to 158 degrees fahrenheit.
> 
> The trial court subsequently reduced the punitive award to $480,000 --
> or three times compensatory damages -- even though the judge called
> McDonalds' conduct reckless, callous and willful.
> 
> No one will ever know the final ending to this case.
> 
> The parties eventually entered into a secret settlement which has never
> been revealed to the public, despite the fact that this was a public
> case, litigated in public and subjected to extensive media reporting.
> Such secret settlements, after public trials, should not be condoned.
> -----
> excerpted from ATLA fact sheet. )1995, 1996 by Consumer Attorneys of
> California
> 
> 
> 700 previous claims. Hot enough for you?

I always thought third degree burns resulted in blackening of the skin,
total destruction of the skin, etc.  I guess I was wrong.

As far as the case, I'm reminded of one in PA where a woman
was in a car accident, received a head injury and was given a CAT scan.
She/her lawyer brought suit against the hospital for 13.5 M because
the CAT scan destroyed her psychic ability.  She won.  The judge
reduced it to 200K because it was excessive.  Real bright jury.  She never
had to prove she had psychic ability before the accident.

At my wife's place of business, they keep coffee and water for tea
close to boiling point since they have foreign visitors who like
it hotter than most Americans do.  Their warnings are inadaquate according
to that ruling.  I never heard of anyone filing a lawsuit there.

I really don't think we could protect people from their own stupidity.
But then again, common sense is becoming an oxymoron.