Remember the news story of the lady who spilled hot coffee and sued McDonald's?
 

This video tells the real story. I was shocked at the truth about it. She deserved much much more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCkL9UlmCOE#t=697

Wow, that was very eye-opening. I have to admit, I was one who thought at the time that this woman had really taken advantage of the situation. I had no idea until today of how she suffered and of all the facts that we never got to know about at the time. It's no wonder so many people misread this whole situation. We can only know as much as the media chooses to tell us, and it seems they left out a LOT.

Well, at least now we have the internet to research a story like this. It is sad that you just can not trust the news media.

I saw that yesterday and I also thought the same as Suzutte316. So glad the family got the truth out. So sad that woman had to deal with all of the wrong media reports and jokes for so many years. Very, very said indead....

Being in the insurance industry handling such claims from 1975 - 2010, I was aware of the facts of the case when it came down and the part that frustrated me the most about the reporting was the failure is report the contributory negligence part of the case. The poor woman was found to be negligent for her actions, but it did not excuse the temperature of the coffee being served. It is called contributory negligence. I do not believe she was entitled to more money - remember it all comes back on the consumers when we give away money in court cases (I won't bore you more about how they develop the value of a case) - but the fact that she was held partially responsible should have been part of the story.

Burns are incredibly delicate injuries. When in doubt if a burn should be treated by a doctor - go to the Emergency Room. There are horror stories out there where it appeared to be fairly minor and and it kept burning inside.

I agree. I think she should have gotten more money, but I also think she is partially to blame for putting hot coffee in between her legs. I think McDonald's was wrong in not acknowledging their responsibility in that their coffee was too hot, but we also have to implore a little common sense in that something that hot has no business being between your legs especially when these cups are flimsy to begin with. Both are at fault but the corporation should have stepped up to the plate and paid the medical bills, it would have cost them a lot less money if the would have given then the 10k upfront for their negligence in the situation. I do agree the media did not help with giving up all the facts which is why I don't watch the news very often you don't know what to believe with how everything is spinned.

It just goes to show that what we think we know and the truth can be totally on opposite ends of the spectrum. This woman should not have had to go through the public scrutiny and would not have if the story was told in its entirety. We should all be ashamed of our selves for the thoughts we had when this happened. I know I am.

Her being negligent was factored in the settlement as the video explained. McDonalds was fined the 2 million for being more negligent then the customer and for stating the incidents of burning by their products were too insignificant to worry about. The video showed how the dollar amount was calculated.

coffee brewed that hot tastes like crap. I'm so sorry for that woman's misery.

She did not get 2 million, that was what they wanted to give her. I am so sorry to hear she was harassed by the media and also comedians and politicians. She went to court for the medical bills and she also did not want that to happen to anyone else.

Yes, so correct about the older skin. I watched the video. I never had an opinion on the story as did not have a television at the time. Maybe it is because I do not have any judgment history on this that I see some things that scream out, to me at least, that McDonald's was the victim. 81 year old skin is paper-tissue thin. 81 year olds know they their muscles and limbs shake and are not as easy to control. 81 year olds know it is not gonna work putting a cup of anything between your legs to balance without getting some spilled over the top. At the beginning of the story it was mentioned the vehicle only had curved surfaces so the cup was put between the legs. Her reasoning for putting the coffee between the paper-thin skinned thighs was because the car was not made to accommodate drinks on the go. So, did the coffee burn because it was too hot or because there were only curved surfaces in the vehicle? Blaming the auto mfgr is about as silly as blaming McDonalds. Out of the seven hundred burns mentioned, how many were the result of removing the entire lid to put cream and sugar in, instead of just through the drink/sip opening? Were they burned because they treated a travel beverage as a table-top beverage? Most 81 year olds would be too shaky to pour cream through just the sip hole and many were/are in the habit of asking it be added before they get the drink or request a few ice cubes to be put in. This woman chose to compensate for her age by opening the entire lid and no, she was not driving, but was the car in motion all the same? The fact is she would not have gotten burned if she would have acted her age. She would not have gotten burned if she had kept the lid on; or asked for ice to be put in, etc.. If her skin burned that severely at 190 degrees, she still would have had substantial burning at 170-180 degrees because.......her skin was so fragile. Thank goodness the coffee was at the higher temperature or we would be getting our coffee at all restaurants and gas stations at the not-so-hot temp of 160 degrees! (Yes, it is sad she was so badly burned, but this video has me wondering how in the heck she was awarded anything.

I see no reason to serve it that much hotter than home brewed, you can't drink it and not burn your mouth

At least I know the whole story now, I was on McDonalds side, but NO more after seeing this. I am truly sorry for her pain and agony
.

A couple of things to note . . . I didn't get the impression anyone in this woman's family was blaming the car manufacturer for not having straight surfaces to place the coffee on. It was simply mentioned to point out the reason why she chose to put the cup between her knees to get the lid off. No finger pointing, just explaining.

Also, I don't think anyone would argue that it's a bad idea to put a hot cup of coffee between your knees (at ANY age), but the real point here was the extreme temperature of the coffee which was found to be exceedingly and dangerously hot. The fact that her skin was thin and fragile does not take away from McDonald's responsibility to serve their products at temperatures that are not dangerous and can cause extreme harm to anyone, at any age.

Would it have burned her if it had been 10, 20, 30 degrees cooler? Sure. Would it have been third degree burns that required one week in the hospital and skin grafts? Probably not, but at any rate, that would be pure speculation. We can only go by what DID happen and what temperature the coffee ACTUALLY was. And they did have an expert state that liquids at 180 degrees (McDonald's at the time served their coffee between 180 and 190 degrees) would cause third degree burns in fifteen seconds. On anyone, at any age.

And lastly, what I found most interesting about this whole story, was that this woman tried to get a fair compensation from McDonald's by just asking for her medical bills to be paid by them. When they refused, she sought legal help to simply have her bill's paid. Again, twice, McDonald's refused. Had they just been fair and sensible that would have been that and this woman would not have made a dime, just been able to pay her medical bills. But they chose not to take any responsibility whatsoever and it cost them dearly.

I'm very sorry she was burned so badly. Honestly, I'm not a callous person but a couple things come to mind. In the video she did not appear to be shaky and is by no means senile so she was aware of the possible consequences if it spilled. If they were parked outside in preparation to eat I would have opened the car door and dumped some out so it would cool faster and then sat it on the floor until I was ready to drink it. Personally, I dislike lukewarm "anything"that's suppose to be hot.

I am so sorry that this happened. Hope everyone now knows do not put between your legs!!!!! Those cups are not very sturdy and cofffee is hot!!!

I am 76 years old so feel qualified to perhaps make a judgement call.

how sad that she suffered so

One thing to remember is that a car is not a restaurant. Drinking and driving while drinking coffee is a hazard. Imagine what could happen if someone were driving a took a sip of hot coffee and spilled it all down the front of them. A horrible crash could result from it and possibly involve several other vehicles. There are many people of all ages out there on the roads that shouldn't be driving much less driving while distracted by a beverage or anything else. I use an old fashioned percolator at home to brew my coffee, it comes out at 190 degrees, the industry standard. The Mr. Coffee's, Bunn's etc. do not heat up enough to get to that temp. If I use my Bunn I need 7 scoops of coffee to get the same degree of rich tasting coffee as the old percolator where I use 4 scoops.

With all the talk of Obamacare, I wonder what would have happened to the whole issue if she had had insurance?

190 degrees of any liquid is too hot for anyone to handle. I would never give a person a cup of scalding liquid to carry around. Brewing it that hot is fine but have sense enough to let it cool down before serving.

But, in order to dump some coffee out of the cup she had to take the top off...

Good point.

I totally agree with you. I do not like cool or cold coffee--I expect it to be hot. During all my years of drinking tea or coffee I have never put the cup between my legs--paper or otherwise--moving or not moving--in a vehicle or not.

She could have poured it out the slit on the lid.

If my coffee is too hot--I let it cool down--I do not remove the lid. I believe it was total negligence on her part.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but do not think it is beyond reason that any hot beverage I buy at any restaurant, be within a serving temperature as to be enjoyable but not so hot that it can cause such burns. If the 'public' wants coffee so hot, let them do it at home. where it is in a somewhat controlled environment. I too, originally thought this was a frivolous lawsuit. It is unfortunate that the news media does not report all the facts, so assumptions are made based on what we do hear. Accidents happen. But the worst she should have suffered was brown coffee stain on her cloths, not the painful and terrible burns she exhibited. McDonald's and all other restaurants that serve to-go hot beverages would be best served to head the dangers.

We have become such a litigious society, nobody says "Oops, I screwed up!", but "I've been hurt - it must be SOMEBODY'S fault!" Why not sue the car company for not having a food serving surface? What happened was a poor decision on her part ( or the driver's) not to eat inside at a table which would have provided a secure surface for coffee. How about if you trip down the stairs because you're carrying a laundry basket and not holding the railing? Do you sue the builder? I have cut my hand by slicing apples in my hand instead of on the cutting board. Should I sue the knife company? Or the apple orchard? If you do something potentially stupid, like putting hot coffee next your very sensitive privates, be prepared for the consequences. This is why we have those ridiculous warnings on things that would just require common sense. Like ' don't use the lawn mower to trim your hedges' . I'm sorry an old lady was hurt, but totally her fault.

Tartan is right... maybe we need to go after fast food purveyors who use chintzy cups for hot beverages. If they would apply some financial pressure to their suppliers, I'm sure things would change quickly. Not only that, but those foam or foam-like cups have all sorts of toxic chemicals in them, which leech out into the beverage. Not that the FDA doesn't know this... they DO... they just figure we don't, so they don't do anything about it.

I think she shouldn't have gotten any money, you know the coffee is hot when u buy it and to try and drink it in the car. She was old enough to know better

interesting story. years ago my son cut his finger pretty bad on school property. I went to the school the next morning and said that he cut his finger ... before I could finish my story, I was told how they were not responsible and I cannot ask them to pay etc etc. well all I wanted to say was where he hurt himself and that there was glass there and maybe the janitor should check it out so some other kid would not get hurt. they jumped to conclusions and did not listen. something of the same here. she wanted to let mcdonals know that their coffee is too hot and maybe they should turn it down a bit so it would not happen again. mcdonalds did not listen and then it went to court. I think the end result was a shame to the family but still a black spot for mcdonalds. you think of that with each cup of coffee you buy with "hot hot hot" written all over the cup. I personally like their coffee, buy it often, and have them put an ice cube in it. ... to cool it down.

When you go through the drive-thru at night, please tell me who of you flip on the overhead and read every single line on a coffee cup to suddenly realize that your coffee is "hot-hot-hot". Shouldn't't common sense prevail???? You ordered hot coffee so wouldn't't it be safe to assume that when you got it it www. would be---HOT?

You can feel the heat through the cup. No way would I put even a hard cup of anything between my legs. I never try to drink hot coffee until it cools for a while. So sorry this happened to her, caution is a good virtue to have. I didn't take time to watch the video or read all the postings. This has always been my feeling on this.

No one has addressed why she took the lid off the cup. It was to put sugar and cream in it. If McDonalds had prepared it the way she wanted it, she would not have had to take the lid off. She might have burned her tongue, but the tongue can take a hotter temp than the inner thigh skin. My complaint is that when I go through a drive thru, I would like them to prepare the food to my specifications, because I go to a restaurant to have food prepared for me, and because people who are going through a drive thru need their food ready to go.

How do you know she even asked them to put the cream and sugar in ?......or if she only asked for some cream and sugar packets? I would have opened the drink tab and dumped some of the coffee out before I tried to open the lid.

Such a good news video. Love the NYT's . Thanks for sharing this link. Good to hear the real story of what happened to her.

You know, I suspect there are a lot of stories out there that are spin doctored for the specific purpose of upsetting people and generating a strong reaction--no matter whether it's positive or negative. If you pay attention to the choice of words and phrases, sometimes it's obvious that the intent is to manipulate the audience. And there is so much that is suspect on the news--both print and broadcast.