Summary: Liebeck V. Mcdonald's Case

The 1994 civil case of Stella Liebeck, a 79 year old woman from Albuquerque New Mexico, versus McDonald’s, a successful billion dollar corporation, is that of controversy and misunderstanding. In 1992, Stella and her grandson went through a McDonald’s drive through for breakfast. Stella got a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup with her food. Her grandson pulled out from the drive through and stopped the car so Stella could put cream and sugar into her coffee. Because there was no cup holders in the car, Stella placed the coffee in between her legs and tried to pry the plastic lid off the cup. When removing the lid, the cup spilled all over her lap. The pants Liebeck was wearing soaked up the liquid, then began burning her skin. She got 3rd degree burns from the hot coffee within a matter of seconds. She ended up spending eight days in the hospital where she endured an expensive and painful treatment.
Stella Liebeck, the plaintiff of the case, claimed McDonald’s, the defendant, held their coffee at too high of a temperature, 180 to 190 degrees, which could cause 3rd degree burns

To heal these burns she braved skin grafting and debridement operations. She was mutilated and disabled for two years after the spill. Fortunately Stella recovered, but she still had to live with the discomfort from the burns. Her injuries caused “physical pain, mental pain and anguish, and loss of life’s enjoyment during the pendency of treatment”. The burns ended up costing a pretty penny, about $10,500 for treatment, and to fully recover she spent another $2,500, totaling $12,500. On top of that Stella lost a year's worth of work, amounting to $5,000 of lost income. (I did a bit of calculations, this case began in 1992. If inflation is considered, the medical total of $12,500 today would be the equivalent to about $21,000 according to the Bureau of Labor