Stella Liebeck's Remains In 205 Degree Fuse

On February 27, 1992, In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Stella Liebeck and her grandson went to the local McDonalds to get breakfast. The grandson Chis was driving his 1989 Ford Probe with his grandmother Stella sitting in the passenger seat. Chris's car did not have cup holders so Stella had to put the cup of coffee in between her knees in order to add cream and sugar. During this process, Stella spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap. Stella received third-degree burns to her groin, buttocks and thighs resulting from the scalding coffee. Stella was taken to the hospital where she stayed for over a week and underwent skin graphing treat the burns. Worst of all, as if suffering third-degree burns wasn't enough, Stella was partially disabled
Liebeck took the risk herself when she placed the hot coffee in between her legs. Restaurants all around the world serve coffee that is hot enough to cause injury if one was
The National Coffee Association advises that coffee should be brewed at 195 to 205 degree Fahrenheit for the ideal extraction and served at 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The law firm of Gallivan, White and Boyd gave their opinion that “Just because a product can cause serious injury when handled negligently doesn’t not mean that product is unreasonably dangerous when and if used properly” (The Original Hot Coffee Product Liability Case, Gwblawfirm.com). I believe the severity of Liebeck’s injuries and her old age is what made the jury feel sympathetic and side against McDonalds restaurants. Liebeck argued that there was no warning label on the McDonalds coffee cup to inform the customer. However on McDonalds promotional poster and on their website there was sample picture that showed “Caution: Contents Hot” in an orange text on the cup. In my opinion I do not think McDonalds should have been held accountable for Liebeck acting careless with hot coffee. However, McDonalds should have covered Liebeck’s medical expenses out of good faith since they could easily afford it. McDonalds sending Liebeck for $800, which didn’t even cover half of her medical bills, displays McDonalds lack of concern and sympathy for Liebeck’s horrendous injury. Even worse, from 1982 to 1992, McDonalds coffee has burned more than 700