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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What about the McDonald’s case? Wasn’t that a frivolous lawsuit? I heard that lady got millions of dollars for spilling coffee in her lap! Isn’t that outrageous?

A: People have been writing and talking about this case for years. It is true that the injured woman was awarded money by a jury; however, there are many important facts that we never hear about in the press. You might have heard that the woman was driving; the fact is that she was the passenger. You probably did not hear that such suffered third degree burns over 6% of her body, including her inner thighs and genitalia. You probably did not hear that McDonald’s knew that it’s coffee was dangerously hot and that it could cause serious injury but decided to continue selling it at a very high termperature. You probably also did not hear that the jury awarded the woman $160,000 to compensate her for the injury, but it awarded $2.7 million to punish McDonald’s for its actions. Also, the verdict was reduced by the judge to $640,000 and later McDonald’s and the woman settled the case for an undisclosed sum. If you want to read anything more about the case, we have included a summary elsewhere on our Web site.