Another multi-million dollar coffee burn

[Loonman]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/columnists/ny-bzstar303605411dec30,0,3929925.story?coll=ny-linews-featured


There's no use crying over spilled milk, but hot coffee is a whole other matter.

In a case with echoes of a famous suit against McDonald's, a Glen Cove woman has filed a $10-million claim against Starbucks, alleging she was badly burned by coffee that leaked from the container.

[Superfly]

1. BS alert...

I have never had a cup of Starbucks that was even approaching hot.

She should sue for the "burnt" flavor of Starbucks coffee. Blech!

[slackmaster]

2. Shouldn't the company that made the faulty container be the target?

Or should I say, "allegedly faulty"?

:shrug:

Aw hell, they should just sue everybody.

[wtmusic]

3. Water utility is clearly to blame

(and has deeper pockets)

:silly:

[NewJeffCT]

4. McD's suit

I originally thought it was frivolous as well, but I did hear from a guy that followed the case closely that McD's was doomed by their own internal memos warning employees that their coffee was too hot and that the woman's injuries in that suit were terrible... but, I don't know the whole story.

[whatelseisnew]

5. And how much $ did the woman actually get after the judge reduced

the award?

[ProfessorGAC]

6. It Settled At A Few Hundred Thousand, I Think

The number $350k sticks in my head, but i'm not sure that's right.
The Professor

[Bandit]

16. Also McDonald's had been sued many times previously for the same

offense. They had already lost several suits about super-heated coffee and no warnings. They continued the practice and the woman had third degree burns. Not just some red marks on her skin. She was permanently scarred. Third degree burns are life threatening.

[Caution]

7. McDonald's Coffee Suit

Everyone points to this as a "ridiculous" lawsuit but in fact this suit was legitimate.

ATLA Description of the case

Snippet:

Liebeck placed the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled into her lap.

The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonald's refused.

During discovery, McDonald's produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992. Some claims involved third-degree burns substantially similar to Liebeck's. This history documented McDonald's knowledge about the extent and nature of this hazard.

Snippet:
McDonald's also said during discovery that, based on a consultant's advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain optimum taste.


Snippet:

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 McDonald's coffee sales.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

8. Wow-basically ruined her sex life

and it must have been agony to go the bathroom.

[Loonman]

9. Usually, when I used to drive

Not even once did I ever put a hot cup of coffee between my legs.


You're just asking for trouble doing that.

[Zephyrbird]

11. Ususally, when I read a post

I go to the link and read the whole thing before I make dumb comments.

She wasn't driving, and the car was stopped.

[Superfly]

12. But, yet, the coffee was still, for some unknown

reason, still between her legs?

[Zuni]

18. exactly

I never put very hot coffee between my legs. That is just dumb.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[private_ryan]

15. still stupid

you can get burned even by a pizza, if you put between your thighs. We all do stupid stuff, sometimes we're the only people to blame.

[Zuni]

19. yup

hot liquids in cheap containers are never held between my legs, that is for sure.

[private_ryan]

10. "Careful, the beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot."

"We don't bring a case because somebody has deep pockets," said Levine, a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Next time ask for cold coffee, or, a few ice cubes in the side. I've been "burned" by coffee myself, one minute of cold water running and the redness was gone away the next day. It was restaurant coffee, not sure of the temp, but it was hot.

[Loonman]

14. Why don't we just give all our money to lawyers?

$10 mil. Ridiculous.

[DoNotRefill]

17. Doesn't sound frivolous to me....

Coffee should NEVER cause 3rd degree burns...sounds like they were selling it WAY too hot.