McDonald's were serving coffee hotter than most other places. (And hotter than coffee made at home.) McDonalds had already settled on previous cases (700 or so) where customers had been burned by hot coffee. McDonalds decided that this number of injuries is insufficient to cause them to change their practice. (Remember that some of these people also had full thickness burns, which is a significant injury with life long scaring.)
The coffee was hot enough to cause full thickness ("3rd degree") burns. It remained hot enough to cause these burns after they left the restaurant, and after a short drive.
Warning labels do not work - if warning labels worked no-one would ever get a speeding ticket. A warning label on the side of coffee is ignored by the people making it and the people drinking it.
A jury looked at the facts of this case and decided McDonalds was negligent and that the woman deserved punitive damages.
Although, if you hate this lawsuit, most of them (and they continue to happen, McDonalds didn't change the temperature of their coffee after the case) get thrown out of courts.
The coffee was hot enough to cause full thickness ("3rd degree") burns. It remained hot enough to cause these burns after they left the restaurant, and after a short drive.
Warning labels do not work - if warning labels worked no-one would ever get a speeding ticket. A warning label on the side of coffee is ignored by the people making it and the people drinking it.
A jury looked at the facts of this case and decided McDonalds was negligent and that the woman deserved punitive damages.
Although, if you hate this lawsuit, most of them (and they continue to happen, McDonalds didn't change the temperature of their coffee after the case) get thrown out of courts.