Mrs. Liebeck Vs. Macdonald’s Restaurant
Mrs. Liebeck vs. Macdonald’s Restaurant
What are the facts?
This was a widely criticized case that ensued after an accident that occurred in 1992 were Mrs. Liebeck purchased a cup of coffee from a MacDonald’s restaurant and spilled the contents on herself which cause severe burns to 16% of her body , 6% of which were third degree burns. As a result needed serious medical attention and also had to get some skin grafting and repairs done which led to high hospital bills. She then reached out to MacDonald’s asking to be reimbursed for her expenses, only to receive and apology of $800.
She decided to get a lawyer and file for a legal action, which prior to the trial her attorney made another offer of $300,000 that Macdonald’s again rejected.
So looking at the facts of the case it’s no shocker how the jury was able to arrive at their verdict. The facts produced during the case were omitted in the whole media frenzy over the jury’s rulings on the case. But reviewing the facts and arguments presented by Mr. Ken Wagner; the plaintiff’s attorney during the court proceeding we can see the difference in the details portrayed by the media.
According to the testimony of the plaintiff , we were able to find out first of all that the car was parked while she was trying to get the lib off the coffee cup when the accident happened unlike we were led to believe in the tabloids and news channels that carried reports that she was driving the vehicle herself.
Secondly the plaintiff argued that MacDonald’s was serving its coffee at a scalding 190 degrees Fahrenheit which is thirty degrees more than a hot cop brewed freshly by a regular home coffee makers. The defense on the other hand based their actions on customer satisfaction, saying that their brand guarantees its customer a distinct flavor in which the product needs to be served at that temperature to preserve its taste and quality. Saying they were serving what their customers wanted and enjoyed.
He brought in a burn expert in the field of thermodynamics as it applied to human skin burns that testified to the court that the temperature at which MacDonald’s served its coffee could cause severe burns to the human skin within less 10 seconds of contact. He also explained that the extent of the burns reduce drastically when reduced to 155 degrees.
The plaintiff went further to present documented cases all over the country with similar accidents and burns. Mr. Wagner Showed to the jury over a list 700 other cases were victims had complained that they were burned by the extremely hot coffee being served. Saying that those figures are alarming and is a clear case of negligence on the part of MacDonald’s by ignoring all these complaints over the same particular product. MacDonald’s claimed to be looking at the figures statistically which was calculated as just one case to millions