Mcdonald's Hot Coffee Case Study

Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman, was in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car when they went through a McDonald’s drive thru and bought a coffee. After Liebeck bought her coffee her grandson pulled over so she could put cream and sugar in it. Since the car didn’t have a flat dash or cupholders, she set the coffee between her knees. (The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case, n.d.) While attempting to take the lid off, the coffee spilt on her causing third degree burns on 16% of her body. (Burtka, n.d.) The skin was burned down to the muscle and fatty tissue, Liebeck stayed in the hospital for about a week and received skin grafts. Liebeck’s compensatory damages include her medical bills as well as the wages that her daughter lost to take care of her mother while she recovered. (The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case, n.d.) There were punitive damages as well, during this time McDonald’s was aware that the coffee was burning customers yet they didn’t lower the temperature. …show more content…
The evidence showed the company’s lack of care, as they did nothing to prevent further incidents before this case was brought to trial. The McDonald’s manual required its coffee to be at 180 to 190 degrees, coffee at that temperature causes third degree burns in three to seven seconds. In the ten years before this case McDonald’s had been aware of the risk of serious burns from their coffee at such a high temperature. (The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case, n.d.) Before Liebeck’s case McDonald’s had received 700 complaints of burns acquired from their coffee. (The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case, n.d.) Furthermore, a McDonald’s quality assurance manager testifies that at the temperature of McDonald’s coffee, consumption would result in burning the throat and mouth. Yet, McDonald’s did not warn consumers that by buying a cup of coffee they would be at risk of serious burns. (The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case,