Analysis of McDonald's Hot Coffee Burn lawsuit case of sky-high price compensation changes the way McDonald's coffee is heated

Remember the hot coffee lawsuit? It changed the way McDonald's always heated coffee. Whether you know it or not, let's review the whole process of the case together today!

facts of the case

On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman, sat in the passenger seat of her grandson's Ford Probe and ordered a great value meal at a McDonald's drive-in window in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With no cup holder and a sloping interior surface, her grandson Christopher Tiano parked the car in a parking space after receiving the order.

"I wanted to take the lid off the coffee and put cream and sugar in it, so I put the cup between my knees to stabilize it off the top." Coffee was then spilled on Liebeck's knees, causing second-and third-degree burns to more than 16 percent of her body. She went into shock and was hospitalized for a week and underwent multiple skin grafts.

Why did Liebeck decide to sue?

When Liebeck's medical expenses exceeded $10,000, she contacted McDonald's and asked for reimbursement. "We couldn't believe that spilled coffee could cause such damage," Liebeck's daughter Judy Allen said in a 2013 documentary about the case,"Media Burn." "We wrote a letter to McDonald's asking them to check the temperature of the coffee and reimburse medical expenses."

That's when Liebeck contacted a lawyer. After an unsuccessful attempt at an out-of-court settlement, Liebeck sued McDonald for $125,000, claiming physical and mental pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Her argument: because the coffee is too hot

At the time, McDonald's required its franchisees to brew coffee at temperatures of 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit and sell it at temperatures of 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit, which is far warmer than coffee made by most home coffee machines.

What happened in court?

During the trial, Liebeck's surgeon, David Arredondo, MD, told jurors that fluids at that temperature could cause very severe burns if they were in contact with skin for more than a few seconds. "If we're lucky, it causes second-degree burns," he said. "If you're not so lucky, you'll get third-degree or full-thickness burns that require skin grafts and surgery.

McDonald's has reason to require its coffee to be served at that temperature-it tastes better, according to the Wall Street Journal. Coffee experts assured the company that "high temperatures are required to fully extract flavor during brewing."

McDonald's representatives said Liebeck was responsible for holding the cup between his legs. They said she should have taken off her clothes immediately as soon as she spilled coffee. Most importantly, her age may have played a role in the severity of her wounds, as older people have thinner skin and are more vulnerable to injuries.

However, McDonald's has received more than 700 complaints about burns from hot drinks over the past decade. The defense countered that the number of complaints was statistically insignificant given that McDonald's sells billions of cups of coffee a year. Their opinions seemed to bore jurors.

"There's a person behind every number, and I don't think the company is paying enough attention to that," juror Betty Farnham told The Wall Street Journal.

After seven days of testimony and four hours of deliberation, jurors sided with Liebeck. They awarded her $200,000 in damages. But because she caused the leak, they reduced the amount to $160,000. The jury then awarded her $2.7 million in punitive damages, which they concluded was equivalent to two days of McDonald's coffee sales. The total was $2,735,000 higher than Liebeck's claim. "The only way to get big corporations 'attention [is] punitive damages against them," juror Marjorie Getman said. "And we think it's a very small punitive damages."