Hurricane..... I mean UCF week

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northgajacket

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Don't get me started on the McDonald's care on here again. Mickey D's effed up not only in her case but many, many other similar ones. I laid this out for the board as while back. Are there egregious cases? Oh hell yes but that wasn't one of them.

I know, I was just joking around. The coffee at the time was known to be excessively hot and she did suffer third degree burns and had to go through skin grafting.
 

northgajacket

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Don't get me started on the McDonald's care on here again. Mickey D's effed up not only in her case but many, many other similar ones. I laid this out for the board as while back. Are there egregious cases? Oh hell yes but that wasn't one of them.

Also she originally wanted McDonald's to just pay her medical expenses and they low balled with an $800 offer.
 

takethepoints

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Yeah, but thanks to people actually being able to successfully sue over the dumbest reasons ( like the old bat who spilled McDonald's coffee on herself), everybody is scared of a possible lawsuit.
Uh, dude, my wife got third degree burns over about 15% of her body from a hot coffee spill at a fast food joint that shall remain nameless. She was in pain for almost 3 months and is still scared from the incident. Only the burn unit at Grady - the only one south of Chapel Hill that knows what it is doing - saved her from further infection (most of the pain from burns is from subsequent infections) and other complications.

The only thing that saved those turkeys whose negligence scared my wife from being killed (literally and figuratively) in court was my wife deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle. She's an attorney and a very high paid one with great insurance. We could easily afford not going to court and she wanted to recover. Oth, if I had been that woman's lawyer, I'd have ripped McDonald's a new one even bigger then she did. This kind of negligence - and that is what it is - is what's wrong with corporate America. And attitudes like yours keep that "screw them until they sue" mindset alive.
 

northgajacket

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Uh, dude, my wife got third degree burns over about 15% of her body from a hot coffee spill at a fast food joint that shall remain nameless. She was in pain for almost 3 months and is still scared from the incident. Only the burn unit at Grady - the only one south of Chapel Hill that knows what it is doing - saved her from further infection (most of the pain from burns is from subsequent infections) and other complications.

The only thing that saved those turkeys whose negligence scared my wife from being killed (literally and figuratively) in court was my wife deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle. She's an attorney and a very high paid one with great insurance. We could easily afford not going to court and she wanted to recover. Oth, if I had been that woman's lawyer, I'd have ripped McDonald's a new one even bigger then she did. This kind of negligence - and that is what it is - is what's wrong with corporate America. And attitudes like yours keep that "screw them until they sue" mindset alive.

Calm down, I was joking.
 

OldJacketFan

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Also she originally wanted McDonald's to just pay her medical expenses and they low balled with an $800 offer.

Yep and they jerked her around leading her to retain counsel, once discovery got underway all the prior claims came to light. I've handled claims for 30 plus years with the last 25 solely in a litigation environment. There are companies that are honorable and others that are simply garbage though it read their press releases they are glowing examples of corporate responsibility. A lot of folks crap all over plaintiff attorneys but one of the reason they do exist is to protect the public against corporations who couldn't care less about putting an unreasonably dangerous product in the marketplace. These corporations have created their own problems. Again, there egregious cases but they are minuscule in comparison to legitimate claims that are forced into litigation in an "attempt" to control costs by both insurance companies and corporati0ns who are self insured.
 

MikeJackets1967

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Yep and they jerked her around leading her to retain counsel, once discovery got underway all the prior claims came to light. I've handled claims for 30 plus years with the last 25 solely in a litigation environment. There are companies that are honorable and others that are simply garbage though it reaf their press releases they are glowing examples of corporate responsibility. A lot of folks crap all over plaintiff attorneys but one of the reason they do exist is to protect the public against corporations who couldn't care less about putting an unreasonably dangerous product in the marketplace. These corporations have created their own problems. Again, there egregious cases but they are minuscule in comparison to legitimate claims that are forced into litigation in an "attempt" to control costs by both insurance companies and corporati0ns who are self insured.
Sorry about that OldJacket I had no idea!:(:cry:
 

northgajacket

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Yep and they jerked her around leading her to retain counsel, once discovery got underway all the prior claims came to light. I've handled claims for 30 plus years with the last 25 solely in a litigation environment. There are companies that are honorable and others that are simply garbage though it reaf their press releases they are glowing examples of corporate responsibility. A lot of folks crap all over plaintiff attorneys but one of the reason they do exist is to protect the public against corporations who couldn't care less about putting an unreasonably dangerous product in the marketplace. These corporations have created their own problems. Again, there egregious cases but they are minuscule in comparison to legitimate claims that are forced into litigation in an "attempt" to control costs by both insurance companies and corporati0ns who are self insured.

I would have never guessed that McDonald's didn't care about the people.
 

OldJacketFan

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I would have never guessed that McDonald's didn't care about the people.

Like most corporations their focus is on the profit margin, and there is nothing wrong with that, it's when profits override everything else that is a problem to the consuming public. Mickey's D's knew there was a design issue the lids they were using, the cups they were using and they knew that keeping coffee at 190 degrees would scald skin upon contact. Typically restaurants serve coffee between 155-160 degrees. Mickey D's maintained theirs at the 190 level so it wouldn't cool as quickly for customers picking up coffee at their drive thrus. To maintain coffee at the correct temperatures Mickey's has 2 options for drive thru customers, (1) Heat/maintain the coffee at an unsafe temperature or (2) Serve it in an insulate cup at a safe temperature. Guess which way was more cost effective to Mickey D's? ;)
 

Milwaukee

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Yep and they jerked her around leading her to retain counsel, once discovery got underway all the prior claims came to light. I've handled claims for 30 plus years with the last 25 solely in a litigation environment. There are companies that are honorable and others that are simply garbage though it read their press releases they are glowing examples of corporate responsibility. A lot of folks crap all over plaintiff attorneys but one of the reason they do exist is to protect the public against corporations who couldn't care less about putting an unreasonably dangerous product in the marketplace. These corporations have created their own problems. Again, there egregious cases but they are minuscule in comparison to legitimate claims that are forced into litigation in an "attempt" to control costs by both insurance companies and corporati0ns who are self insured.

How exactly did your wife get the piping hot coffee on her? It's an extremely unfortunate incident, can you elaborate as to how it was the restaurant's fault? I'm assuming they didn't pour it on the victim, but my assumption could be 100% wrong.

Edit: Me even asking feels creepy, but I genuinely would like to know how exactly it went down. If you don't wish to elaborate I won't mind, you certainly don't have to get into the details.
 

OldJacketFan

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How exactly did your wife get the piping hot coffee on her?

It's an extremely unfortunate incident, but can you elaborate as to how it was the restaurant's fault? I'm assuming they didn't pour it on the victim, but my assumption could be 100% wrong.

It wasn't my wife :) The risk manager for Mickey D's at the time was a good friend of mine. He had worked for the same carrier I was at and then moved to work for McDonald's. She actually spilled it on herself when she went to add condiments and the jury assessed her comparative fault in coming to the verdict and the award for damages. What the jury found that sunk Mickey D's was the fact that they put a product in the stream of commerce that was unreasonably dangerous (190F) to the consumer and the packaging (a simple paper cup) was insufficient to protect the consumer. When the trial went to he punitive phase ALL the prior claims for coffee burns was made known to the jury and that's where that absolutely hammered Mickey D's. The prior knowledge that Mickey D's had and their refusal to adopt appropriate changes was all the jury needed to make their point. The punitive award was reduced on appeal and a settlement was reached between the parties to everyone's satisfaction.
 

Milwaukee

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Ok, glad it wasn't your wife :) For some reason I thought that's what one of the previous posts said.

Imo As for the case itself, she still spilled the damn coffee. As unfortunate as it is, that's the case. Lawyers using legal terms can most certainly win a case like that, but I think that's what the OP was exactly hitting at with his post. Common sense is gone and people can jack the system and sue for anything now.

"Coffee is very hot. Do not spill." should suffice for the common sense population. Unfortunately, finding loopholes isn't the exception anymore, it is the rule. Common sense has taken a backseat and is now the exception.
 

OldJacketFan

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Ok, glad it wasn't your wife :) For some reason I thought that's what one of the previous posts said.

Imo As for the case itself, she still spilled the damn coffee. As unfortunate as it is, that's the case. Lawyers using legal terms can most certainly win a case like that, but I think that's what the OP was exactly hitting at with his post. Common sense is gone and people can jack the system and sue for anything now.

"Coffee is very hot. Do not spill." should suffice for the common sense population. Unfortunately, finding loopholes isn't the exception anymore, it is the rule. Common sense has taken a backseat and is now the exception.

And I get your point. But is really isn't that simple. Yes coffee is hot, 155-160F doesn't immediately scald when it come in contact with flesh. 190F does and that's what Mickey D's was putting out to the public. Yes, you can sue for anything. Do you have a case based upon the law? If not summary judgment will dispose of the case. I would much rather protect the public than the corporations that foist this kind of crap on the consumer. You seem to think that lawyers have some magical ability to make chickensalad out of chickens**t. Trust me, they don't. Absence a legally viable claim(s) the case will never make it to a jury and, with the vast majority of attorneys, will never be filed with the courts.
 

OldJacketFan

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@Milwaukee

It was another poster who's wife suffered a similar injury.

Oh just so you know I don't hate all corporations Cracker Barrel has suffered with coffee burn claims for years. Their risk manager sat down with their coffee vendor (who also supplies the pots) and togther that came up with a design to minimize the possibility of a pot being accidentally poured on a customer. They redesigned the opening of the pot from a circular shape to a triangular shape and then a filler to narrow it further. Also their servers are trained to always pour into a cup that is on the table and never in the customers' hand. Did it cost Cracker Barrel money for the redesign of the pot? Yes it did but the saw the claims for coffee burns drop to almost none! In the ling run they are saving bookoo bucks! I think some other restaurants have adopted the same design bu I'm not sure how many. One of the reasons it hasn't been universally adopted it they are pricier (surprise, surprise) and they to be seated just so on the burner so the coffee will drip properly into the pot when the coffee is being brewed.
 
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