"But WRT the McDonald's incident, as it has been pointed out here, the
coffee temperature was considerably higher than the McD. standard,
and that particular restaurant had been told to turn the temp down,
but they didn't. Spilling coffee (I dunno, maybe someone bumped her
just as she was taking a sip, so it wasn't even due to her
ineptitude) in your groin that is hot enough to produce third degree
burns is not a pleasant experience, for a man or a woman. And the
coffee doesn't have to be that hot to meet anyone's requirements. It
seems to me that 140-150 degrees should be plenty hot (maybe even
less). I understand that this coffee was on the order of 180 degrees.
That's the temperature your dishwasher uses to sterilize the dishes
before it shuts off (if you open the dishwasher just as it turns off,
you should find the dishes way too hot to touch), and it's why on
occasion some piece of plastic that you thought you were going to
wash, comes out looking like a woebegone pretzel."
I am sympathetic to the woman and her burned crotch, but I still question the
culpability of the McD corp.; (and certainly the DEGREE of their culpability)
If she was jostled by someone, then, perhaps that person bears some
responsibility, but they would not be subject to the same financial jeopardy as
McD Corp simply because McD has the "deep pockets".
I think that the woman in question showed a lack of good judgement by choosing
to stow her coffee cup between her legs. Was this her first purchase of coffee
from McD? ...or that particular McD which, perhaps she should have known,
serves very hot coffee. I think they maintained their coffee very hot because
there were complaints from take-out customers that the coffee was cool by the
time they reached the office to drink it.
Even if McD was deemed to be at fault, to what degree are they liable? I would
think that payment to cover medical expenses should be a maximum, but as I
recall there was A HUGE amount more money awarded in this case due to
(unjustified?) punitive damages.
I don't represent (or even like) McD Corp, but I resent having to pay
significant amounts more for goods and services because the providers have to
protect themselves against frivolous (unrealistic) law suits.
I'm sorry to run on off topic (Physics) but there has been light traffic on the
list lately and I thought I'd proffer my 2 penny rail against the legal
profession.