Re: In the U.S. paid...
"3) She claims that she didn't spill the coffee, but rather the cup fell apart"
It didn't fall apart. She grasped the sides with her inner thighs in an effort to remove the lid with her hand. The lid popped off, squeezing and ejecting coffee all over her crotch. Yes, there was some court discussion on if the lid was designed for that cup or not.
"5) The coffee was, by McDonald's own admission, too hot to be considered fit for consumption"
Yes, but it's industry standard. EVERYBODY COMPLIES WITH THIS. It is standard practice to make the coffee hotter than normal consumption temperature, so by the time you take it away and actually drink it, it has come down to normal consumption temp, not just plain cold. The only coffee that's served DRINKING temperature is stuff that's served to you right there in the shop. In fact, the McDonalds served at the take away counter temperature was slightly LOWER than industry norm for their business model.
The only fair part of this is she initially requested $18,000 (wikipedia) from McDonalds for the injury and following treatments. They offered her $800, and then ignored her. Repeatedly. She took them to court, a jury awarded $2.86 million, but the trial judge brought that down to 640K. They finally settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
There is much in the way of resourses on this on the 'net, but like many other subjects, you have to dig around to get all the details.
McDonalds did wrong here, but it had nothing to do with coffee - only how they handled the payout. Not only that, this case sparked a huge debate, discussion and arguments over tort reforms in the US.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
