Too Hot Coffee Provokes Lawsuit

Two years ago today, I found myself the best personal injury attorney Seattle could offer. I had to go out of my budget a little bit, but when we won, of course, the cost of hiring high quality legal representation was nil. Not only do I now have a trustworthy and proven lawyer on my side if further legal cases arise, I have a renewed interest in and appreciation for our nation's justice system.

Personal injury, I have learned, is a fascinating and much contested branch of law. When one party, whether it be an individual or a company, harms another person or company in a way that is not illegal, a personal injury suit ensues. This includes anything that injures a person or company physically, mentally, emotionally or publicly that isn't precisely against the law.

Another somewhat similar type of civil suit is that of product liability. Most often, when a product is faulty or ill designed it causes some sort of damage or danger to the plaintiff. Perhaps the most famous and illustrative of these was a suit happened back in the early 1990s.

After suffering third degree burns from drive through coffee spilled on her lap, elderly Stella Liebeck sued the multi-national fast food chain McDonald's. In 1994, when the case finally came to an end, a jury came to the conclusion that McDonald's was, in fact, to blame.

The case, known as Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, resulted in much debate about the state of our legal system and what constitutes a reasonable court case. On one hand, Stella Liebeck did spill the coffee on herself so many people claim the mistake and blame are hers alone. On the other hand, as Liebeck's lawyers argued, if McDonald's serves their coffee hotter than any other comparable restaurant, they are in fact putting their customers at risk.

For compensation, the jury gave Liebeck $160,000 for medical expenses and more. $2.7 million in punitive damages was charged toward McDonald's.

Though these sums were reached in court, Liebeck's attorneys were able to dodge an appeal by McDonald's by settling for a different amount outside of court. Many legal experts and commentators took this to be definitive proof that the trial was a waste of money.

It is perfectly likely that I wouldn't be now so fascinated by law if my case hadn't ruled in my favor. However, I trust that with my stellar personal injury attorney Seattle at my side, I won't be seeing legal defeat any time soon. As it has for literally thousands of years, the conversation about what is right, what is wrong and who is to blame continues..

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