![]() Consequently, a victim took them to account for it. This is a story about a greedy corporation. To give you an idea, that’s less than McDonald’s makes from the sales of its coffee in a single day. But because McDonald’s conduct was so reprehensible, they awarded $2.7 million dollars in punitive damages, which was eventually reduced by the judge to $480,000.00. Liebeck was partially at fault for the accident as well, they attributed 20% to her and reduced the award to $160,000.00. The Result of the McDonald’s Hot Coffee CaseĪfter hearing about McDonald’s knowledge that people were getting hurt and disregard for its customers’ safety, the jury found that they were at fault for the accident and awarded Ms. At trial, McDonald’s own witnesses admitted that the temperature they served coffee at was “ NOT SAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION”. However, it is not the millions of dollars you heard about. ![]() After filing the lawsuit and prior to trial, the demand to resolve the case was $20,000.00. Just the medical bills that piled up because of McDonald’s disregard for its customer’s safety. Liebeck and her family just wanted McDonald’s to cover her medical expenses in relation to this incident. But it was cheaper to do nothing.Īt first, Ms. Not only was McDonald’s doing something dangerous to save money, but THEY KNEW PEOPLE WERE BEING BADLY BURNED! McDonald’s own documents showed that they were aware of over 700 cases where customers were badly burned by the coffee between 1982 to 1992. She had to undergo skin grafts and follow-up debridement treatments where they would cut away dead or rotting flesh. Liebeck was hospitalized for 8 days for third-degree full-thickness burns on her thighs and genitals. Why is McDonald’s coffee so hot?įor starters, why serve the coffee so hot? Well, it's cheaper to do it that way. Liebeck spilling even more coffee onto her lap. Understandably, the shock and pain led to Ms. Basically, that’s hot enough to cause horrible third-degree burns. This coffee was between 180 and 190 degrees. Normally, coffee is served at around 140 degrees. In the process of taking the lid off, some coffee spilled onto her lap. After getting their food and a cup of coffee, her grandson stopped briefly so that she could add cream and sugar. In February of 1992, Stella Liebeck was a front-seat passenger in her grandson’s car when they went to a McDonald’s drive-through in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Or, was it a greedy corporation that knew people were being horribly burned and did nothing because it was cheaper for them not to? The Background: How Hot Was the McDonald’s Coffee? And judge for yourself whether this was really a case of a greedy plaintiff. The story goes that a woman burned herself trying to drink her Mcdonald's coffee while driving so she sued Mcdonald's because her hot coffee was too… hot. The perfect example of a greedy individual taking advantage of a broken system, right? I mean that’s what the news reported? Right? What if I told you that everything you thought you knew about the McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case was wrong? Like most people, you’ve probably heard about the lady who sued Mcdonald's and won millions because her coffee was too hot.
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