posted on October 10, 2000 12:21:59 AM new
MacDonald's seems to attract more than it's fair share of these!
We all remember the idiot woman who sued MacDonald's after she decided to try driving with a cup of hot coffee squeezed between her thighs. To this day, they still display signs that inform you that coffee is hot.
Now we have another to marvel over! Seems a woman is suing MacDonald's for $100,000 because a pickle fell out of her burger and "burned her chin." And, um, her husband is also suing--for $15,000--because he has lost her (as he so delicately phrases it) "services" while her chin heals.
posted on October 10, 2000 03:44:17 AM new
I also used to think that the woman who sued McDonalds for the coffee burn had brought a ridiculous lawsuit. That story was widely publicized as an example of the need for tort reform.
I changed my opinion after reading more about the McDonald's coffee incident. Right here in Bunnical's post we can see one of the common misconceptions - In fact, the woman who was burned wasn't driving.
McDonalds had known that extremely serious burns could occur at the extreme temperature at which it served its coffee, much hotter than coffee we'd fix at home. Prior to this woman's injury, there were 700 documented injuries from McDonalds coffee.
I had originally heard more facts about this case in a class on tort law. Take it with a grain of salt, maybe, it's no surprise that lawyers wouldn't embrace the "idiot woman" version.
Anyway, here's 2 links if I can make them, to what you don't hear behind the 'idiot woman, sue-happy society' take.
posted on October 10, 2000 05:17:27 AM new
Where was this McDonalds where the food was hot enough to burn somebody? Not in my neighborhood! None of my business but why did a burn on her chin keep her from "her services". Reminds me of the joke about the lady who didn't want to have sex because she was going to the gyn the next day. Her husband asked her if she had a dentist appointment too.
posted on October 10, 2000 06:03:38 AM new
Sure, coffee is hot, and everyone knows that. But before this lawsuit, McDonalds was serving their coffee at between 180-190 degrees.
I've spilled coffee on myself at home. If it's on my shirt, the first thing I do is pull my shirt away from my body. Coffee made at home is generally between 135-140 degrees. Even at 158 degrees, coffee will cause a 3rd degree (most serious burn) in 60 seconds. At McDonalds pre-lawsuit temperature of 180-190 degree, 3rd degree burn occurs in as little as 2 seconds. And 3rd degree burn (the worst type of burn) is nasty - skin is burned away down to the muscle/fatty-tissue layer. And you have 2-7 seconds after contact is made before that happens.
Know also that McDonalds had documented 700 cases of burns caused by their coffee, some as serious as this woman's burns, before this woman's lawsuit, and did not change their serving temperature until after this lawsuit. And, the previous burns weren't exclusively foolish old woman burns. Some burns were caused by McDonalds employees spilling coffee on customers, children as well as adults.
posted on October 10, 2000 06:17:03 AM new
This points out how poorly the media disseminates information. Even the print media, which has the luxury of more time for details, fails to provide the depth of information that we need to understand a topic.
There is always more to a story than we realize and you just can't hear a 10 second blurb on the radio or TV and make a judgement about a case.
Not to say that there are not LOTS of totally ridiculous lawsuits today. But, fortunately, most of these are dealt with by the system. They are dimissed or the party loses.
I do believe an example of this was a case where someone purchased a bag of Peanut M&M's. One of the pieces of candy did not contain a peanut. The person sued claiming that they injured their mouth or teeth because they bit down harder than they would have on the piece of candy, as they were expecting a peanut! Too funny!
