Most people have heard about the McDonald’s spilled coffee case. It was the poster child for what is called tort reform – legislation to cap or limit awards for injuries. What most people don’t know is what occurred in that case.
McDonald’s, unlike other fast food companies, served their coffee at a piping 185 degrees, 20 degrees hotter than their competitors. Their apparent thought was that if you took your coffee home from the drive thru, it would still be hot when you got there. They did this despite knowing coffee that hot can cause third-degree burns. And they were aware of some 700 prior incidents of burning customers.
Along came an 81-year-old woman who had never sued anybody before. She was a passenger in her grandson’s car. When she opened the lid to add sugar and cream, she spilled the coffee on her lap, resulting in third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay. She suffered permanent scarring on more than 16 percent of her body.
When the woman’s medical bills approached $11,000, she sought out payment from McDonald’s.
They offered her $800.
When her bills reached $20,000, she obtained a lawyer. A mediator recommended a $225,000 settlement. McDonald’s refused.
At trial, the jury awarded her $200,000, in light of evidence of knowledge their coffee exceeded industry standards for heat, that they had ignored a request from a non-profit burn institute to lower the temperature of its coffee, and had paid no mind to the 700+ injuries it had caused. The jury also awarded two days’ gross profit on McDonald’s global coffee sales — $2.7 million. A judge later reduced that punitive damage award to $480,000.
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