Liebeck Vs McDonald

The US legislative system is a wonderful source of fabulous cases . It seems that no other state has had so many bizarre lawsuits during the all history of legislative system existence . One of the most known cases of modern times is Stella Liebeck vs . McDonald 's . It 's incredible but a simple woman managed to sue large corporation , win the case while most contemporaries considered her claim to be hopeless . In this essay we will overview the core of the case and how decision on it influenced the US tort law

In

February 1992 , Mrs . Stella Liebeck bought a cup of coffee at a drive-through window of a McDonald 's in Albuquerque , New Mexico . She was not the driver of the car and the coffee was spilled while the car was parked . That is , Ms . Liebeck 's grandson had pulled the car to the curb so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee and the vehicle was stationary before she placed the cup of coffee between her knees and attempted to remove the lid for the purpose of adding cream and sugar As she lifted one side of the lid , the coffee spilled onto her lap Immediately , the coffee was absorbed by her sweatpants . Her clothing forced what was later learned to be super-heated coffee ' against her skin ( HYPERLINK http /www .zurich .com /main /productsandsolutions /industryinsight /2004 /mar ch2004 /industryinsight_005 .htm http /www .zurich .com /main /productsandsolutions /industryinsight /2004 /mar ch2004 /industryinsight_005 .htm )The McDonald 's coffee Ms . Liebeck purchased was served at a temperature of between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit . For home use , coffee is generally brewed at 135 to 140 degrees . If spilled on skin , any beverage heated to between 180 and 190 degrees will cause third-degree burns in two to seven seconds

Ms . Liebeck 's injuries were severe . She suffered full thickness burns (third-degree burns ) and scalding to her inner thighs , groin and buttocks . A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full thickness burns over 6 percent of her body . She was in the hospital for eight days and had to undergo extremely painful procedures to remove layers of dead skin , as well as several skin grafting and debridement treatments (the surgical removal of tissue

Ms . Liebeck 's original intention was to obtain legal help in to be reimbursed for her medical expenses , which were said to have nearly 20 ,000 . However , McDonald 's refused to pay her medical bills This led Ms . Liebeck to a product-liability suit ( HYPERLINK http /www .canf .bc .ca /briefs /mcdonalds .html http /www .canf .bc .ca /briefs /mcdonalds .html The case was considerd as a tort one . Tort law is easy to describe at a general level and hard to define more precisely . Tort comes from a Latin word meaning "twisted " or "turned aside " so a tort is an act that is turned aside from the standard of proper conduct--a wrongful act . If you punch your neighbor in the nose , run over a pedestrian by...