Brain Injury Attorney Blog

Everyone has heard about the infamous McDonald's coffee case where a woman named Stella Liebeck, who was 79 years old, sued McDonalds and received $3 million. This has been an extremely misreported story and misunderstood case. These are the facts according to Stella Liebeck's attorney, S. Reed Morgan.

Stella Liebeck was a passenger in her grandson's car. They stopped at McDonald's to purchase a cup of coffee. While the car was stopped, Ms. Liebeck attempted to hold the cup of coffee between her knees while removing the lid. The cup tipped over and poured scalding hot coffee over more than 16 percent of her body, giving her third degree burns. She ended up in the hospital for eight days and had to undergo whirlpool treatment to remove the dead tissue from her wounds, skin grafting, scarring and a disability for more than two years. Ms. Liebeck offered to settle with McDonalds for $20,000; however, McDonalds rejected this offer. The jury awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages, reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her 20 percent at fault. She was also awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages for the cruel conduct of McDonalds. Keep in mind that McDonalds makes more than $1.3 million a day for coffee sales. The punitive damages were also reduced to $480,000.

The Shriner's Burn Institute in Cincinatti had published warnings to the franchise food industry that its members were unnecessarily causing serious scald burns by serving beverages above 130 degrees Fahrenhiet. Morgan, The Recorder, September 30, 1994.

After this verdict, the McDonalds in Albuquerque where Ms. Liebeck was burned began selling coffee at 158 degrees rather than 180 to 190 degrees which will cause third degree burns in 60 seconds instead of two to seven seconds.

This is how most people are forced into hiring a personal injury attorney. The business that caused the accident will promise to pay the hospital or physician bills that are incurred due to the injury. Once the injured person has received the bills, they try to contact the business where they were hurt and no one returns their call, they decide they will not pay anything or they will not pay the full amount for the injury related bills. This is where the Myrtle Beach personal injury attorney steps in and makes sure that the injured person is compensated for their injury.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to someone else's negligence, please call The Mace Firm to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced South Carolina personal injury attorneys.