Heather Kaal
LAW 231
July 7, 2016
Hot Coee
The world in which we live has created an en”tlement society, as a result there are many innocent
vic”ms that have been limited in their ability to hold someone accountable due to the restric”ons that
have been put in place. Whether we are vic”ms of negligence, intended harm, slanderous
characteriza“on or even medical malprac”ce, we each have the right to a fair day in court.
Stella Liebeck has been the topic of conversa”ons for decades. We all know the story of the lady who
sued McDonald’s because her coee burned her, but due to a nondisclosure agreement Mrs. Liebeck
was not allowed to tell her side of the story to the public. Topics of the lawsuit were never disclosed to
the public when the story was shared.
McDonald’s was made aware of the issue of coee being too hot. McDonald’s had received over 700
complaints about the coee burning customers, the holding temperature of the coee was hot enough
to cause 2nd or 3rd degree burns if contact was longer than a few seconds, according to their own quality
manager. Once a signi1cant number of complaints have been 1led, something needs to be done to
protect both the company and the consumer.
Mrs. Liebeck asked for McDonald’s to pay her medical expenses that were not covered by Medicare and
a be3er lid for the coee cups, but the company counteroered a mere $800. Mrs. Liebeck decided at
