That is a horrible analogy. But here goes. GM puts safeguards in their cars to help make them safer. If GM (or Ford or any car manufacturer) made a car KNOWING it was unsafe, and sold it and didn't exactly let the consumer know how unsafe it was, wouldn't they be liable? For example, if GM knowingly sold cars that they knew the seat belts failed in crashes exceeding 60 MPH, but did so because they could make more money.
I remember studying this case in a management class and that the case itself wasn't without merit, but there is some misconception about the coffee itself though. The ideal temp to brew coffee is about 195-205 degrees. Of course by the time it gets poured into a cup it drops a few degrees, but the coffee she was served was not any hotter than what you'd get at Starbucks, Peets or any other coffee shop. Fresh coffee is usually too hot to sip. Now imagine pouring a whole mouthful into your mouth and just holding it in there. You'd probably end up with 3rd degree burns like she did.
MacDonalds put warning labels on every cup, and lids, too. Styrofoam so you don't burn your hand. Seems the same to me. Putting hot liquid near or on your lap also seems as stupid as driving your corvette recklessly. Both reckless.
I'm guessing McDonald's put that 190 degree coffee in a cup with a lid on it. Seems like a safeguard to me.
Well, I don't know about that. What's the top speed of a Charger? Corvette? Mustang? What's the highest speed limit in this country? 75? 80? 90? In most states you go to jail for going over 100 mph, yet these vehicles can go well over 100 mph. My motorcycle can top out around 150 mph. That's 50 mph over what the government will throw you in jail for. There's no warnings. There's no safety measures to prevent me from going over the speed limit. It's a personal choice to purchase a vehicle that will go that fast, and it's a personal choice to exceed the speed limit. If I were to die going 100+ on the freeway, would you blame the motorcycle company?
I think there is a lot of misperception about this case. The large verdict (about 3 million) came by way of punitive damages, and that damage award is meant to punish the defendant. If the jury thinks punitive damages should be awarded, then the issue is how much should they award to "send a message to McDonalds." It's clear that the jury thought not only that MCDonalds was negligent, but that their conduct was so bad they needed to be punished. People like to discredit the American jury system, but I am a believer in it. If you have a dispute, you don't take thing into your own hands (like buy a cup of coffee from McDonalds and pour it into the manager's lap) . . . you take it in front of 12 people from the community and let a neutral party decide who is right and wrong.
Having a society where corporations have to consider the safety of their product and potential harm it may cause, is a good thing!
Or we just live in a society where people want to blame someone else for their mistakes. It's not the fault of the shooter, it's the fault of the gun. It's not the fault of the person riding in a car without cup holders, it's the fault of the company selling the coffee. It's not the fault of the smoker, it's the fault of the cigarettes. It's not the fault of the fat guy, it's the fault of the food companies. Better start regulating soft drink sizes! People need to start being accountable for their own life decisions. Don't want to die from lung cancer? Don't smoke. Don't want to get fat? Don't eat fast food. Don't want to burn yourself? Don't spill hot shit on your lap. Don't want your child to get shot? Teach them about proper gun safety, or don't buy them realistic looking toys. It's cause and effect.
"Hot" being the operative word. I wonder what is worse to have spill on you McDonald's coffee or fluoric acid. This woman experienced 3rd degree burns and was hospitalized because of "hot" coffee. Out of curiosity what happens if you spill fluoric acid on you?
So should they come out and make sure you're safely handling the coffee cup before they sell it to you? It's hot coffee. Everyone knows it's hot coffee. They say that it's hot coffee. You're buying hot coffee, no? Do you buy warm coffee? There's such a thing as assumed risk. It shouldn't have to be explicitly stated that the coffee is hot, and that if you spill it on yourself, you're going to get burned. Are people really that stupid?
Like to exaggerate? Stop and look at society Nate. So as far as I know, cigars and cigs are legal, fast food is legal. Hell buying guns and cars that go 120 MPH (even though speed limit is never that) is fine. It is not a society of blaming others for your mistakes and corporations are anything but gun shy (look at the ford pinto) But put out a product that you know has the potential to harm the consumer, ignore the fact that people are being harmed and continue to profit selling a dangerous product, then very likely could be sued in America. Rightfully so . . .
There's a really good documentary called Hot Coffee that looks into this. It's on Netflix and it does a good job of explain this lawsuit and a few others like it. http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70167106?strkid=1006929569_0_0&trkid=222336&movieid=70167106
If the product is legal, and you aren't forced to use it, then all of the liability is your own. There are warnings all over cigarettes, and yet people still try to sue tobacco companies. It's one thing to knowingly hide the dangers of your product. If a car had something wrong with it, and a company hid that problem, then they deserve to be sued. People sue gun manufacturers because someone went crazy and shot people. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...-shooting-victim-sue-gun-maker_n_1950654.html People sue fast food for making them fat. http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91427&page=1 People sue tobacco for giving them lung cancer. http://www.drugfree.org/join-togeth...ck-smokers-survivors-to-sue-tobacco-companies Sorry, but there's no secret about what cigarettes will do to you. To this day, I have no idea why young people start smoking. We were made explicitly clear what cigarettes will do to you from a very young age. There's nobody to blame but yourself if you die from lung cancer. Nobody is being forced to smoke. Nobody is being forced to buy hot coffee. Nobody is being forced to eat fast food, but they do, and then they blame the companies that sold them those products when something bad happens. It's blaming someone else for your own life choices, plain and simple.
Actually a lot of the cigarette lawsuits including the big one here in Portland were concerning how cigarettes were marketed to consumers. Cigarette companies sold cigarettes that were labeled as light and ultra light and how advertising saying that they are a safer alternative to regular cigarettes. Those cigarettes were no safer than regular cigarettes and in fact some of them had a much higher nicotine. If you're making false claims about your product even if your product is considered unhealthy you should expect to be sued.
