Stella Liebeck – McDonald’s Coffee Case
Everyone has “heard” of the McDonald’s case and results,
but let’s see what you really “know”.
No cheating, no research, just go through this and see how you score
based on what you “know” as compared to what you think you “heard”.
1.
When Stella Liebeck was burned, she was in the:
a.
driver’s seat
b.
passenger seat
c.
rear seat
2.
When the coffee spilled, the car was:
a.
moving
b.
parked
c.
on the highway
3.
The cup:
a.
was being handed to her and was dropped
b.
in her crotch
c.
was between her knees
4.
When the coffee spilled, Stella was:
a.
squeezing her legs together while reaching for her Egg
McMuffin
b.
removing the lid to add cream and sugar
c.
eating her breakfast
5.
Stella received burns to her:
a.
inner thighs
b.
perineum
c.
buttocks
d.
genitalia
e.
all the above
6.
These burns were:
a.
1st degree
b.
2nd degree
c.
3rd degree
d.
all the above
7.
Stella required:
a.
2 days in the hospital
b.
5 days in the hospital
c.
8 days in the hospital and skin grafting surgery
8.
(Hint: Your
coffee at home comes out at about 135 to 140 degrees)
McDonald’s
quality assurance manager testified that the company actively enforced a
requirement that its coffee be served between:
a.
140 to 150 degrees
b.
150 to 170 degrees
c.
180 to 190 degrees
9.
(True or False)
McDonald’s
quality assurance manager testified that the company knew that coffee served at
the requirement temperature was not fit for consumption because it would burn
the mouth and throat.
10.
According to the experts, coffee served at the
temperature as required by McDonald’s will cause full thickness burns to human
skin in:
a.
2 to 7 seconds
b.
10 to 20 seconds
c.
30 to 60 seconds
11.
Prior to Stella’s burns, McDonald’s had received “more”
than this number of coffee burn claims:
a.
100
b.
300
c.
700
10.
Prior to filing her lawsuit, McDonald’s “rejected”
Stella’s offer to settle all her claims, medical bills, injury and scarring,
for the total amount of:
a.
$20,000.00
b.
$100,000.00
c.
$500,000.00
13.
The jury evaluated Stella’s “total” claim for
compensatory damages for all of her medical bills, injuries and scarring at:
a.
$200,000.00
b.
$500,000.00
c.
$2,000,000.00
14.
Based on the evidence and testimony, the jury also
awarded punitive damages against McDonald’s in the amount of:
a.
$2,700,000.00
b.
$4,300,000.00
c.
$10,000,000.00
which
was later “reduced” by the court at McDonald’s request to:
d.
$480,000.00
e.
$1,500,000.00
f.
$5,000,000.00
15.
As her percentage share of her own responsibility or
fault for contributing to her own injury, the jury assessed fault against
Stella in the amount of:
a.
0% her fault, 100% McDonald’s fault
b.
10% her fault, 90% McDonald’s fault
c.
20% her fault, 80% McDonald’s fault
Again, no cheating!
Let’s see how you did (the correct answers are in bold):
1. When Stella Liebeck was burned, she
was in the:
a. driver’s seat
b. passenger seat
c. rear seat
2. When the coffee spilled, the car
was:
a. moving
b. parked
c. on the highway
3. The cup:
a. was being handed to her and was dropped
b. in her crotch
c. was between her knees
4. When the coffee spilled, Stella was:
a. squeezing her legs together while reaching for
her Egg McMuffin
b. removing the lid to add cream and sugar
c. eating her breakfast
5. Stella received burns to her:
a. inner thighs
b.
perineum
c. buttocks
d.
genitalia
e.
all the above
6. These burns were:
a. 1st degree
b. 2nd degree
c.
3rd degree
d.
all the above
7. Stella required:
a. 2 days in the hospital
b. 5 days in the hospital
c. 8 days in the hospital and skin
grafting surgery
8. (Hint: Your coffee at home comes out at about 135 to 140 degrees)
McDonald’s
quality assurance manager testified that the company actively enforced a
requirement that its coffee be served between:
a. 140 to 150 degrees
b. 150 to 170 degrees
c. 180 to 190 degrees
9. (True or False)
McDonald’s
quality assurance manager testified that the company knew that coffee served at
the requirement temperature was not fit for consumption because it would burn
the mouth and throat.
10. According to the
experts, coffee served at the temperature as required by McDonald’s will cause
full thickness burns to human skin in:
a. 2 to 7 seconds
b. 10 to 20 seconds
c. 30 to 60 seconds
11. Prior to Stella’s
burns, McDonald’s had received “more” than this number of coffee burn claims:
a. 100
b. 300
c. 700
10. Prior to filing her
lawsuit, McDonald’s “rejected” Stella’s offer to settle all her claims, medical
bills, injury and scarring, for the total amount of:
a. $20,000.00
b. $100,000.00
c. $500,000.00
13. The jury evaluated
Stella’s “total” claim for compensatory damages for all of her medical bills,
injuries and scarring at:
a. $200,000.00
b. $500,000.00
c. $2,000,000.00
14. Based on the evidence
and testimony, the jury also awarded punitive damages against McDonald’s in the
amount of:
a. $2,700,000.00
b. $4,300,000.00
c. $10,000,000.00
which
was later “reduced” by the court at McDonald’s request to:
d. $480,000.00
e.
$1,500,000.00
f.
$5,000,000.00
15. As her percentage
share of her own responsibility or fault for contributing to her own injury,
the jury assessed fault against Stella in the amount of:
a. 0% her fault, 100% McDonald’s fault
b. 10% her fault, 90% McDonald’s fault
c. 20% her fault, 80% McDonald’s fault
Surprised? At
what? Your score, or the true facts?
Here’s more surprising truth:
McDonald’s received claims on similar cases for 10 years,
and quietly settled them, spending more than $500,000.00 to keep them out of
court and did not change it policies regarding the coffee temperature.
Stella’s medical bills totaled more than $11,000.00, and
McDonald’s responded to her $20,000.00 offer to settle with a counter offer of
$800.00.
McDonald’s had several other chances to settle the case
before trial. At one point, Stella
Liebeck’s attorney offered to settle for $300,000.00. In addition, days before the trial, the judge ordered both sides
into a mediated settlement conference where the mediator, a retired judge,
recommended that McDonald’s settle for $225,000.00. McDonald’s refused all attempts to settle the case.
The punitive damages against McDonald’s equaled only
about two days of McDonald’s coffee sales; similar to the average person paying
a parking ticket.
Based on the 20% assessment of fault against Stella, her
total compensatory damage award was reduced from $200,000.00 to only
$160,000.00.
After appeals, and after the court reduced the punitive
award to only three times the damages award, or $480,000.00, for a total of
$640,000.00, the claim was finally settled for a confidential sum believed to
be a lesser amount.
As part of this settlement, McDonald’s demanded that no
one could release the details of the case.
What’s the GOOD news?
Post-verdict investigation revealed that the McDonald’s in the area
where Stella was burned were serving coffee at an average temperature below 160
degrees!!!
Yes, this case had made a positive difference.
It’s just too bad hundreds of people have to be
senselessly injured, courts and juries tied up for weeks, months and years, and
millions of dollars spent before a big corporation will recognize that personal
safety is always more important than profits.
Suggested scoring:
out of 16 possible correct:
16: Congrats, you
are very knowledgeable, you might have been on Stella’s trial team, or maybe
even counsel for the defense, or you just flat-out cheated!
10-15: Still very
much in the know, and good recall of the truth without being swayed by
embellished stories.
8-11: Not too
bad, better than half; either just not fully informed in the first place,
suffering a failing memory or you used a coin toss plus guessed right on
several.
4-7: Watch out;
those spinmeisters are earning their pay with you, and you have fallen into the
trap of believing them instead of thinking independently and analytically.
0-3: Sad, but you
are in the majority!!!
Thanks for taking the quiz!!
Have a great day!!
