🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <502hii$2...@gondor.sdsu.edu>,
Dennis W. Mattison <matt...@rohan.sdsu.edu> wrote:
>Come on now, I have spilled several different types of coffee on me (hell, we
>probably all have once upon a time) and McDonalds coffee (at the time it
>spilled in the normal place, my legs and my crotch region, usually when I slam
>on the breaks comming up to a just-turned-red light) was no hotter than Circle
>K or 7-11 coffee.  The hottest coffee I had spill on me came from my own 
>coffee maker, which gave me 1st and 2nd degree burns.  However, you didn't see
>me go out and sue the coffee maker manufacturer cause I spilled coffee on me
>that caused 1st and 2nd degree burns.  No, hell, I am responsible for my
>actions, and it was my fault for putting a hot cup of coffee with no lid on 
>the dashboard of my car while driving into work!  Now I wont discourage a
>woman from suing a company for actual damages...but several million dollars
>for spilling coffee on your leg...give me a break.
>
>Touched a nerve there.  
>

Sorry, I got the URL wrong, I added an s.. so its:
http://www.seamless.com/consumer/mcdonald.html

Like I said, read up on it.. 

"The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages. This amount was 
reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Liebeck 20 percent at fault in 
the spill. The jury also awarded Liebeck $2.7 million in punitive damages, 
which equals about two days of McDonalds coffee sales. 

Postverdict investigation found that the temperature of coffee at the local
Albuquerque McDonalds had dropped to 158 degrees fahrenheit. 

The trial court subsequently reduced the punitive award to $480,000 -- or 
three times compensatory damages -- even though the judge called McDonalds 
conduct reckless, callous and willful. "

and another fun fact:

"The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next 
to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full 
thickness burns (or thirddegree burns) over 6 percent of her body, including 
her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas. She was
hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting. 
Liebeck, who also underwent debridement treatments, sought to settle her 
claim for $20,000, but McDonalds refused. "


I don't think I really even have to say anything on my own to refute that..
it's both a poor example of users (consumers?) being stupid, and a poor 
example of a problem with our legal system. 

None the less, users are stupid and our legal system has problems.

kevin

its those damn inDUHviduals..