I got called on this one Red_Bird, so now it's my turn. There was much more behind that coffee lawsuit than what meets the eye. At the time, MickyD employees were required to serve their coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees, temperatures that will cause 3rd degree burns within 2 - 3 seconds. They claimed that they served it that hot because most of their customers were commuters and that the coffee would be the perfect drinking temperature AFTER they arrived at their places of business. That poor woman had simply tried to take off the lid of her coffee while still in the parking lot (passenger, not driver) to add cream and sugar. Given that some cup lid designs are hard to remove, that she was older (adult child driving) and that they tend to fill cups pretty full due to them having lids (ever have your soda leak out the straw hole just because you picked it up?) this lead to her being hospitalized with third degree burns in some VERY sensitive areas, and she had to have several skin grafts plus years of medical treatments. She originally tried to settle with McD's for just the cost of her medical bills plus lost wages. McDonald's offered her $800.00. Oh, and not only did they have approximately 700 prior reports of burn injuries from their coffee before that particular incident, but their own quality assurance manager testified that they knew anything served over 140 degrees could pose a burn hazard. McDonald's was in the wrong and they knew it BEFORE this accident happened.
