A judge later reduced Liebeck's award to $640,000 US. Liebeck required extensive skin grafts and surgery to treat burns covering 16 per cent of her body. She died a decade after settling her case. Other lawsuits centred on hot drinks have cropped up over the years.
She sued McDonald's and a jury awarded her nearly $3 million in punitive damages for the burns she suffered. Typical reaction: Isn't coffee supposed to be hot? And McDonald's didn't pour the coffee on her, she spilled it on herself! Besides, she was driving the car and wasn't paying attention.
McDonald's only offered $800, leading her to file a lawsuit in 1994. After hearing the evidence, the jury concluded that McDonald's handling of its coffee was so irresponsible that Liebeck should get much more than $20,000, suggesting she get nearly $2.9 million to send the company a message.
The jurors awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages for her pain, suffering, and medical costs, but those damages were reduced to $160,000 because they found her 20 percent responsible. They awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages. That amounted to about two days of revenue for McDonald's coffee sales.
Liebeck died on August 5, 2004, at age 91. According to her daughter, "the burns and court proceedings (had taken) their toll" and in the years following the settlement Liebeck had "no quality of life". She said the settlement had paid for a live-in nurse.
In the McDonald's hot coffee case, Ms. Liebeck was found to be partially to blame for her injuries due to the way she removed the lid from her coffee cup. Her award was reduced by the percentage that the jury found her to blame for her injuries.
alleged that McDonald's coffee was too hot to handle, but the photos she produced as proof of the injuries she sustained were found to be fake. Selena Edwards claimed to the court that after placing an order at a McDonald's drive-thru, an employee handed her a hot cup of coffee with a faulty lid.
Legal analyst Jeff Hammerschmidt told ABC 30, "It appears McDonald's has made a business decision to sell the coffee hotter to be able to make more profit and they continue to make more profit even if they're paying settlements."
I happen to know that the most profitable McDonald's item in terms of profit percentage are soft drinks and french fries. The profit margin for a soft drink is about 90%. Meaning that if McDonald's sells you a drink for $1, McDonald's makes a profit of 90 cents.
By the time Chris was able to bring her to the emergency room, she had third-degree burns across her groin, thighs, genitalia, and buttocks. Stella Liebeck was badly injured. All she remembered was the pain. Stella Liebeck spent seven days in the hospital.
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The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages -- reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her 20 percent at fault -- and $2.7 million in punitive damages for McDonald's callous conduct.
A judge later reduced Liebeck's award to $640,000 US. Liebeck required extensive skin grafts and surgery to treat burns covering 16 per cent of her body. She died a decade after settling her case. Other lawsuits centred on hot drinks have cropped up over the years.
The jury on Thursday found fault with McDonald's and the franchise owner for the burns the 4-year-old girl suffered when she went to the Tamarac fast food restaurant back in 2019.
Kytch, a California tech company, filed a $900 million complaint in March, accusing McDonald's and Taylor of defamation and stealing trade secrets.
If your McDonald's coffee cup does not have a "microwave-safe" label on it, do not microwave it to warm your coffee. Coffee cups from McDonald's are coated with a plastic and wax coating that can melt if subjected to high temperatures.
Through the existing McDonald's Coffee Grounds Recycling Program, participating restaurants re-bag coffee grounds and offer them for free to community members to use in home gardens or community gardens.
The water and Coca-Cola® syrup are pre-chilled before entering our fountain dispensers with the ratio of syrup set to allow for ice to melt. We also keep our fountain beverage system cold so your drink is always refreshing.
Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis and dermis. Third-degree burns may also damage the underlying bones, muscles, and tendons. The burn site appears white or charred. There is no sensation in the area since the nerve endings are destroyed.
A jury of twelve awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages. Regarding punitive damages, McDonald's was required to pay $2.7 million.
Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150 degree water for two seconds. Burns will also occur with a six-second exposure to 140 degree water or with a thirty second exposure to 130 degree water. Even if the temperature is 120 degrees, a five minute exposure could result in third-degree burns.
Current and former McDonald's Corp. board members escaped investor litigation Wednesday over allegations that they spent years ignoring red flags about the company's culture of pervasive sexual harassment. Vice Chancellor J.
McDonald's found liable for hot Chicken McNugget that fell from Happy Meal and burned girl. A second jury will determine how much McDonald's USA and its franchise owner, Upchurch Foods, will pay the child and her mother. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
In 1961, he longed for expansion at the national level. The McDonald brothers lacked that ambition (their dream was to reach a million dollars before turning 50), so they sold the company for four million dollars and 0.5 percent of the profits.