Yeah, I remember that case, she even won lots of money in that suit. On the other hand, it's not like she got rich or anything, she spent the money on medical bills treating her serious burns, so in the end I'm sorry for her, but still I don't think it was McDonald's fault that she couldn't figure out coffee is sold hot and you shouldn't hold a hot beverage in your lap while driving.

I had to do research on that case for school not long ago... yes, it's stipid, but not as much so as it seems. Yes, coffee is hot. That's a given. But restaurants also have temperatures that coffee is to be served at, and this cup was well over the max temperature. She was wearing sweats and her son was driving. When the coffee spilled her pants soaked it up and held it against her causing severe burns before she was able to get them off. Had the coffee been served at the appropriate temperature the burns she received would have been substantially less severe. So McDonalds was technically in the wrong, which is why she won so much money from them.

Actually #35 is right. I always thought this was a stupid case too—of course coffee is served hot enough to burn—until I actually read about the details of the case. McDonalds was very clearly in the wrong. They heated the coffee to well past safe consumable levels, over 40° F more than other restaurants and home-brewed coffee. This 79 year old woman also wasn't the first of their customers to suffer 3rd degree burns from their coffee, she was just the first to have to sue them openly for medical cost assistance (McDonalds offered her $800 to go away). They were willfully heating their coffee to 180°-190° to ensure that their low-quality-bean coffee wasn't discernibly bad tasting. They claimed people didn't drink their too-hot coffee until they were at their destination, which their own research showed to be false. All-in-all, McDonalds was pretty obviously at fault.

To add to what #37 said, the warning on McDonald's (and I guess anyone else's) coffee means that it doesn't matter if they're still breaking regulation and brewing their coffee above the accepted degrees. If you get burned, you won't get a dime from them. That "stupid" label is their way of covering their ass if it happens again.

I heard that there actually was a warning label on the cup she was given, but apparently, it was "too small" for anyone to notice.

Hm, I apologize it seems like my comment didn't finish what I actually typed haha.

Never would have thought of this, but you're absolutely right -- call her on it! :D