A stupid cop out.

[golddustdreams]

Some kid in my speech class made me very angry today, and I need to piss and vent.

We are currently working on persuasive speeches. My topic is the infamous coffee lawsuit against McDonald's. I will be defending the verdict. (If you would like to refute this right here and now, I encourage you to read this article first so you know what you're

Comments

[golddustdreams]

Actually, the verdict did place 20% of the blame on the woman for spilling her coffee. It's a very uncommonly cited fact. And she simply did not have to sustain injuries that serious. If I were injured as bad as she (3rd degree burns and a 7 day hospital visit), I would damn well want the company to pay for my expenses. And actually, that's all she wanted. $800 in hospital bills and pain and suffering. The company refused. And McDonald's gave a lameass defense. They had it coming. The jury decided punitive damages were at hand.

I know it might seem ridiculous just because it's a cup of coffee. I mean... I've spilled coffee on myself before. But that's the whole point... if spilling coffee is such a common occurance, should a company really be serving coffee that's 180ºF (82.22ºC)? It's a completely unnecessary predicament, and irresponsible. Most places serve coffee at 160ºF (71.11ºC) because they know the dangers of the extra 20ºF.

So to me, McDonald's had it coming. Her injuries were more severe than they should have been, so they were partially liable.

[sorenr]

The ideal temperature for the water when you make coffee is 96 degrees celsius, meaning that, with a bit of cooling and so on, I would expect coffee to be served at 85-90 degrees. That is hot, yes, but when I buy coffee, I expect it to be fresh and not something that's been sitting around.

If someone serves me coffee at 70 degrees Celsius, I'd be seriously disappointed, as it would indicate that the coffee wasn't, indeed, all that fresh. So yes, I DO think companies should serve coffee at 82.22 degrees, and I think it's fair to expect people to know that yes, hot beverages CAN burn you if you spill them.

So even though some people might find it petty that MacDonald's refused to pay those relatively small medical bills, I do believe that was the right thing to do. I do not think a venue is responsible when a customer has an accident, when it is just a matter of common sense to know that, WOW! Coffee is HOT! I seriously think it's a case of an unfortunate accident, and if it surprised the person who spilled coffee, well... Too bad, but no place is responsible for ensuring that their customers actually have common sense.

[golddustdreams]

And that's exactly where the 20% blame came in. The jury acknowledged the fact that the woman spilled her coffee, knowing coffee is hot. They never said McDonald's was 100% liable, otherwise the verdict would have been a lot more severe. And don't you think the situation would have been different if McDonald's, knowing that 180ºF coffee can cause 3rd degree burns in seconds, would have done more to inform people the extent to which they could be injured? And is really common sense? I wouldn't expect when ordering a cup of coffee that I might suffer 3rd degree burns and need to have skin graft therapy.

At home, coffee that hot is a different story. But in a commercial setting, I don't think it should be allowed without proper warning other than "Hot"

[sorenr]

If you have a liquid with a temperature approaching that of boiling water, then yes, I do believe it's common sense to expect it to be able to produce even very severe burns. I don't think there's any need to warm about that when serving coffee, a drink that should ideally be made at high temperatures and served immediately.

If something is hot, then there's always a risk of burning yourself; who can be surprised at that? Spilling coffee is unfortunate, but some accidents are simply accidents and one cannot expect compensation or other payments from somebody for every accident one has.

[golddustdreams]

WELL YOU'RE JUST A FUCKING ASS AND NO-ONE SHOULD LISTEN TO YOU!!!!!!

(Just practicing my ad hominem.) :OP

[sorenr]

I prefer it to be spelt "arse", please... :-P

Anyway; I'm sure you'll do very well, and while I do take issue with the result of the lawsuit, I wouldn't have any trouble defending it myself if I were required to do so in a class. Hey; speech class is not a matter of conviction, but of presentation, right?