The REAL Story Of The Woman Who Sued McDonald's For Hot Coffee

Coffee isn't just a drink; it's a religion. It's a lifestyle. It's an obsession. 

I only get out of bed in the morning so I can drink coffee. It's all part of the ritual – measuring out the grinds and pouring the water into the machine is just as integral to the waking-up process as stretching and cereal. 

Having worked in a coffee shop for a few years, I've come to know and understand just how personal a beverage coffee is. People identify themselves by how they take their coffee, and servers get to know people by the number of sugars and creams they put in. Some people want their mugs warmed up before the coffee gets poured in; others have to have the sugar put in first, then the coffee, then the cream. Some servers tire of all the special orders, but I always find them fascinating.

The one order I could never understand was extra hot. Obviously you want coffee served hot, but why would you want it so hot that you can't drink it without scorching your lips? Seems pointless to me. And it turns out that extra hot coffee is just plain unwise. There's a good reason for those warning labels on coffee cups.

We all know the story behind those warning labels you see on coffee cups everywhere: some lady spilled coffee in her lap and sued McDonald's for millions in the king of all frivolous lawsuits, right?

Well, that's the story we've all heard, but it's not exactly how it all went down.

That lawsuit was anything but frivolous.

The incident happened in 1992 when 79 year-old Stella Liebeck was in her son's car in the passenger seat. She wasn't driving, as you might have heard. 

Her son stopped so she could add cream and sugar to her coffee.

She put the cup between her knees, and in the process of prying off the lid, the cup tipped over and spilled into her lap. 

Yes, she knew and understood that coffee is served hot. But it's not supposed to be served as hot as it was.

How hot are we talking?

The coffee caused third-degree burns, the very worst burns possible.

We'll spare you a picture of what a third-degree burn looks like. It's awful. Third-degree burns can destroy skin and damage the underlying muscle, tendons, and even bones. 

The coffee soaked into Stella's sweatpants and clung to her skin. She received third-degree burns to six percent of her body, all around her lap.

However, Stella's injuries only tell part of the story.

McDonald's prides itself on superior customer service. And in 1992, that meant serving a coffee that would still be hot after a lengthy drive to work or back home. 

The corporate policy was to keep coffee between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. It was right in the operations manual. 

To give some perspective, your coffee maker at home holds coffee at about 135 or 140 degrees Fahrenheit. 

At 180 to 190 degrees, coffee can cause third-degree burns in three to seven seconds. 

Yes, coffee is supposed to be hot. But would you expect your morning coffee to be third-degree-burn hot?

Spilling that coffee in her lap gave Stella eight days in the hospital, and she needed skin grafts to repair the damage. 

To make matters worse for Stella, she was uninsured. Her medical bills topped $20,000. 

In recompense, McDonald's offered just $800. 

Yeah, $800. So, with so much ground between them, naturally the case went to trial, where a whole slew of revelations came to light.

Among the evidence the jury heard: that McDonald's had known the risk of serious burns for 10 years and ignored it. 

How had it known for so long? At least 700 other claims and suits brought against it for burns from its coffee. However, the amount of money McDonald's made on coffee every day far outweighed what it had to pay out in settlements. 

McDonald's own quality assurance manager testified that, served at that temperature in styrofoam cups, the coffee would cause burns to the mouth and throat, making it unfit for consumption. 

The judge in the case called McDonald's conduct "reckless, callous, and willful."

The jury decided against McDonald's almost immediately. "The facts were so overwhelmingly against the company," said one juror. "They were not taking care of their customers."

The jury awarded Stella $2.7 million in punitive damages, which amounted to about two days of coffee sales for McDonald's. 

The damages were later reduced to $480,000, but Stella and McDonald's ended up settling out of court, and the terms have never been disclosed. 

So when you see those warnings on coffee labels, don't think of frivolous lawsuits. Think of a company that just didn't care enough about its customers to not serve them something that could cause serious damage. 

Share if your friends who drink coffee would want to know the truth!

Main image via reddit / nombski

Collage images via 1. flickr / Renee Rendler-Kaplan 2. flickr / daniel85r