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>details of the famous 1990s McDonald's coffee scalding lawsuit. Yes, the burns were serious. Educators have latched on to this example to argue that it wasn'

>details of the famous 1990s McDonald's coffee scalding lawsuit. Yes, the burns were serious. Educators have latched on to this example to argue that it wasn't frivolous. >The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) recommends a range of 175° to 180°F (80° - 85°C) for holding and a serving temperature range of 155° to 175°F (70° - 80°C). McDonalds was holding their coffee at 180-190, just slightly hotter. You're getting a beverage produced by pouring near-boiling water over coffee beans. It's going to be dangerous. Maybe don't order it at a drive-through.

DanBC 9y ago
> Maybe don't order it at a drive-through. Maybe don't sell it at a drive through.
- abandonliberty 9y ago
  Yes, let's stop selling knives while we're at it.
  - chris_wot 9y ago
    No, not the same at all. Selling knives comes with the knowledge there is a certain amount of known danger - selling hot coffee at the temperature McDonalds served back then wasn't generally known it could cause such burns by the general public. The case was remarkable in part because McDonalds knew that a certain percentage of customers would be severely injured, they worked out the percentages and assumed it would be ok. McDonalds in fact at the time required coffee to be served at 188-90 degrees F (88 degrees C), which will scald in 3-5 seconds; most coffee shops serve it at 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) which increases burn time to 20 seconds. In fact, the attorneys found that McDonalds knew about this problem already and over 500 people had been scalded already; they had paid out $500,000 in the year of the case alone.
cr0sh 9y ago
> Maybe don't order it at a drive-through. If I recall things correctly, the woman who was burned was older, with thinner skin in the region where she was burned. Furthermore, the cup the coffee was served in was, at the time, made of styrofoam. To say they are a bit pliable without a lid is an understatement. So the woman was served the hot coffee in a pliable cup, with a lid - which gave it a margin of structural integrity. Then, doing something she had likely done many times before, she wanted to take the lid off of the cup. Why? I don't honestly know, but likely to add some cream or sugar would be my guess. Apparently though, she needed both hands for this, and did what she likely did in the past: She placed the coffee between her legs, likely to grip it, so she could remove the lid. At which point, the cup collapsed (because it was now a pliable styrofoam cup without a lid, so its structural integrity was lost), spilling the hot contents on her legs and other nearby regions, and burning her severely. This is what I recall from the case and time period. This write-up appears to support that recollection: https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts Apparently, based on the above, she was also wearing sweatpants (known for absorbing liquid, as they are designed for this), and was a passenger in the vehicle (so was likely handed the cup by the driver passing it over).

DanBC 9y ago

> Maybe don't order it at a drive-through. Maybe don't sell it at a drive through.

abandonliberty 9y ago
Yes, let's stop selling knives while we're at it.
- chris_wot 9y ago
  No, not the same at all. Selling knives comes with the knowledge there is a certain amount of known danger - selling hot coffee at the temperature McDonalds served back then wasn't generally known it could cause such burns by the general public. The case was remarkable in part because McDonalds knew that a certain percentage of customers would be severely injured, they worked out the percentages and assumed it would be ok. McDonalds in fact at the time required coffee to be served at 188-90 degrees F (88 degrees C), which will scald in 3-5 seconds; most coffee shops serve it at 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) which increases burn time to 20 seconds. In fact, the attorneys found that McDonalds knew about this problem already and over 500 people had been scalded already; they had paid out $500,000 in the year of the case alone.

cr0sh 9y ago

> Maybe don't order it at a drive-through. If I recall things correctly, the woman who was burned was older, with thinner skin in the region where she was burned. Furthermore, the cup the coffee was served in was, at the time, made of styrofoam. To say they are a bit pliable without a lid is an understatement. So the woman was served the hot coffee in a pliable cup, with a lid - which gave it a margin of structural integrity. Then, doing something she had likely done many times before, she wanted to take the lid off of the cup. Why? I don't honestly know, but likely to add some cream or sugar would be my guess. Apparently though, she needed both hands for this, and did what she likely did in the past: She placed the coffee between her legs, likely to grip it, so she could remove the lid. At which point, the cup collapsed (because it was now a pliable styrofoam cup without a lid, so its structural integrity was lost), spilling the hot contents on her legs and other nearby regions, and burning her severely. This is what I recall from the case and time period. This write-up appears to support that recollection: https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts Apparently, based on the above, she was also wearing sweatpants (known for absorbing liquid, as they are designed for this), and was a passenger in the vehicle (so was likely handed the cup by the driver passing it over).