9 ms·

Woman who burned herself on Dunkin' coffee settles for $3M

19 points by pg_1234 3y ago

wryoak 3y ago
It would be nice if the title weren’t framed in the reflexive, something like: “Dunkin Donuts settles with coffee burn victim for $3 million”
catlover76 3y ago
I'm with her man; Dunkin coffee comes out so hot that when I used to get it, I'd ask them to put ice cubes in it. Granted, I found this to be a perplexingly ubiquitous problem in NYC; just about everywhere that served coffee to-go in NYC, IME, served it at an absurdly hot temperature, and I routinely asked for ice cubes. That was not the case when I was living in LA. was weird :shrug:
- klondike_ 3y ago
  They do it so that the coffee stays warmer longer during the winter months
  - catlover76 3y ago
    That is what I figured, that it was for the benefit of people who would then take the coffee and walk with it on the way to work during the winter. However, they did this even when it wasn't winter...
  - LinuxBender 3y ago
    My understanding is they do it to get more coffee out of the grounds so they use less coffee grounds to maximize profits which also increases the risk of cause esophageal cancer. My personal preference to accomplish maximizing coffee extraction is to use extra filters and less coffee grounds but that takes longer which may not be a viable option for that type of business.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - gruez 3y ago
      I don't think this is a relevant factor. According to one source [1], the optimum brewing temperature is "around 198-202ºF". That's only around 10F away from boiling. I'm not sure how much difference that would make in terms of burning. Keep in mind that something that's hot also cools faster, so by the time it ends up being served, the difference is likely much less than 10F [1] https://www.seriouseats.com/make-better-pourover-coffee-how-pourover-works-temperature-timing https://www.seriouseats.com/make-better-pourover-coffee-how-...
  - thghtihadanacct 3y ago
    thats what insulated vessels are for. Hotter coffee simply has more heat to lose in a crappy cup. caveat emptor but it sucks for all involved except the idiots that run dunkin crapcakes that thought coffee that hot was a good idea. edit: and maybe im a coffee snob or value my taste buds but id rather stay in bed than drink that stuff
  - shiroiuma 3y ago
    That's what insulated cups and mugs are for.
- Arrath 3y ago
  Yeah I prefer to go to coffee shops that serve the coffee at drinkable temperatures rather than scalding. Voting with my wallet and all that.
vsskanth 3y ago
I can confirm this, Dunkin coffee is scalding hot and it's a reason I avoid them. Atleast I have some closure this is not normal.
favorited 3y ago
"Stop handing people cups of coffee so hot that spilling it requires skin grafts," is apparently a difficult-to-learn lesson.
- delfinom 3y ago
  Given these companies keep their coffee scalding hot on purpose, the profit must worth it
  - gruez 3y ago
    AFAIK people like it hot, so it doesn't get cold on the way to the office or whatever, and companies oblige.
    - olyjohn 3y ago
      I prefer it hot as fuck. Maybe that's just me. I don't want a luke warm cup of coffee. I think drinking coffee while driving is dumb as fuck if I'm perfectly honest. They said they the problem was the lid was not secured, what if the lid was secured, and she got in an accident because she has one hand on the wheel when both should be on the wheel? Is this lady 70 years old and never had a place serve a hot as fuck cup of coffee? It just feels like common sense to me that coffee is hot, and driving with a cup of hot liquids is dangerous.
      - dudul 3y ago
        You've never driven a stick? You can perfectly operate a wheel with one hand.
        dharmab 3y ago
        Heck, I've driven a stick with one hand when I've had splints.
  - adamomada 3y ago
    Maybe it’s just fresh coffee? I don’t understand half these comments, it’s like they never made a pot of coffee before in their lives. How do you expect them to cool down a fresh brew anyway, put it in a fridge for 10 mins before serving? I could imagine a busy coffee shop going through batches so quick that the pot is < 5 mins old before it’s empty Fresh coffee is HOT, like 95 Celsius hot!
yieldcrv 3y ago
Nice to see that corporations shied away from plaintiff smear campaigns
- aitchnyu 3y ago
  IIRC headlines of "sued for water slide wedgie" became popular recently, for trivializing genital tearing.
dudul 3y ago
Sometimes I pick up a coffee at dunkins for a drive. And I can never drink coffee until I get there 1 hour later. This s*it is so f-ing hot. And since I'm dumb and never learn I keep doing it, hoping that this one timeaybe I won't need to wait 60 minutes to drink my coffee.
- rubatuga 3y ago
  I just never drink hot coffee, not worth the wait.
oldbbsnickname 3y ago
Unsafe options by default, hence the prevalence of "extra hot" elsewhere. Maybe it's better to avoid expensive, convenient consumption with single-use waste and get a mug, burr grinder, and K-cup machine with a refillable adapter. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ US companies tend to lack proactive risk management because the approach to consumer product safety doesn't insist on the precautionary principle and instead focuses on periodic, reactive tort litigation after harm has already occurred, placing the burden of proof on those harmed. This is like the difference between quality control and quality assurance. One tries to fix things upstream to be better overall while the other drops an "Inspected by #42" on anything that isn't obviously unsellable.
roshin 3y ago
Sigh, I guess this will just continue the trend of companies not being able to provide customers what they want due to the litigious nature of the US court system. Gone are the days where kids can push themselves to the limit on the playground and learn that falling is not good.
8bitsrule 3y ago
1) Make the paper cups thick enough so that when you're handed one, the lid doesn't pop loose because of the pressure it takes to grasp it firmly. 2) Any product that's served hot enough to scald if it falls on skin is an invitation for a lawsuit. Glad she got $3M.
ApolloRising 3y ago
Title is wrong per the actual article copy (Clickbait Titles): "the law museum said. The plaintiff in that case was initially awarded nearly $3 million, but she settled for less, around $480,000, after an appeal."
gumballindie 3y ago
Back when i was still drinking Starbucks’ coffee i always had to ask for not too hot or to pour some cold milk on top. I dont understand their fixation with lava hot drinks. Perhaps to kill off any bacteria and viruses that may be lingering in their cups? Because it certainly doesnt taste good when it’s as hot as not to be able to drink it.

19 points by pg_1234 3y ago

It would be nice if the title weren’t framed in the reflexive, something like: “Dunkin Donuts settles with coffee burn victim for $3 million”

catlover76 3y ago

I'm with her man; Dunkin coffee comes out so hot that when I used to get it, I'd ask them to put ice cubes in it. Granted, I found this to be a perplexingly ubiquitous problem in NYC; just about everywhere that served coffee to-go in NYC, IME, served it at an absurdly hot temperature, and I routinely asked for ice cubes. That was not the case when I was living in LA. was weird :shrug:

klondike_ 3y ago
They do it so that the coffee stays warmer longer during the winter months
- catlover76 3y ago
  That is what I figured, that it was for the benefit of people who would then take the coffee and walk with it on the way to work during the winter. However, they did this even when it wasn't winter...
- LinuxBender 3y ago
  My understanding is they do it to get more coffee out of the grounds so they use less coffee grounds to maximize profits which also increases the risk of cause esophageal cancer. My personal preference to accomplish maximizing coffee extraction is to use extra filters and less coffee grounds but that takes longer which may not be a viable option for that type of business.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - gruez 3y ago
    I don't think this is a relevant factor. According to one source [1], the optimum brewing temperature is "around 198-202ºF". That's only around 10F away from boiling. I'm not sure how much difference that would make in terms of burning. Keep in mind that something that's hot also cools faster, so by the time it ends up being served, the difference is likely much less than 10F [1] https://www.seriouseats.com/make-better-pourover-coffee-how-pourover-works-temperature-timing https://www.seriouseats.com/make-better-pourover-coffee-how-...
- thghtihadanacct 3y ago
  thats what insulated vessels are for. Hotter coffee simply has more heat to lose in a crappy cup. caveat emptor but it sucks for all involved except the idiots that run dunkin crapcakes that thought coffee that hot was a good idea. edit: and maybe im a coffee snob or value my taste buds but id rather stay in bed than drink that stuff
- shiroiuma 3y ago
  That's what insulated cups and mugs are for.
Arrath 3y ago
Yeah I prefer to go to coffee shops that serve the coffee at drinkable temperatures rather than scalding. Voting with my wallet and all that.

vsskanth 3y ago

I can confirm this, Dunkin coffee is scalding hot and it's a reason I avoid them. Atleast I have some closure this is not normal.

favorited 3y ago

"Stop handing people cups of coffee so hot that spilling it requires skin grafts," is apparently a difficult-to-learn lesson.

delfinom 3y ago
Given these companies keep their coffee scalding hot on purpose, the profit must worth it
- gruez 3y ago
  AFAIK people like it hot, so it doesn't get cold on the way to the office or whatever, and companies oblige.
  - olyjohn 3y ago
    I prefer it hot as fuck. Maybe that's just me. I don't want a luke warm cup of coffee. I think drinking coffee while driving is dumb as fuck if I'm perfectly honest. They said they the problem was the lid was not secured, what if the lid was secured, and she got in an accident because she has one hand on the wheel when both should be on the wheel? Is this lady 70 years old and never had a place serve a hot as fuck cup of coffee? It just feels like common sense to me that coffee is hot, and driving with a cup of hot liquids is dangerous.
    - dudul 3y ago
      You've never driven a stick? You can perfectly operate a wheel with one hand.
      - dharmab 3y ago
        Heck, I've driven a stick with one hand when I've had splints.
- adamomada 3y ago
  Maybe it’s just fresh coffee? I don’t understand half these comments, it’s like they never made a pot of coffee before in their lives. How do you expect them to cool down a fresh brew anyway, put it in a fridge for 10 mins before serving? I could imagine a busy coffee shop going through batches so quick that the pot is < 5 mins old before it’s empty Fresh coffee is HOT, like 95 Celsius hot!

yieldcrv 3y ago

Nice to see that corporations shied away from plaintiff smear campaigns

aitchnyu 3y ago
IIRC headlines of "sued for water slide wedgie" became popular recently, for trivializing genital tearing.

dudul 3y ago

Sometimes I pick up a coffee at dunkins for a drive. And I can never drink coffee until I get there 1 hour later. This s*it is so f-ing hot. And since I'm dumb and never learn I keep doing it, hoping that this one timeaybe I won't need to wait 60 minutes to drink my coffee.

rubatuga 3y ago
I just never drink hot coffee, not worth the wait.

oldbbsnickname 3y ago

Unsafe options by default, hence the prevalence of "extra hot" elsewhere. Maybe it's better to avoid expensive, convenient consumption with single-use waste and get a mug, burr grinder, and K-cup machine with a refillable adapter. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ US companies tend to lack proactive risk management because the approach to consumer product safety doesn't insist on the precautionary principle and instead focuses on periodic, reactive tort litigation after harm has already occurred, placing the burden of proof on those harmed. This is like the difference between quality control and quality assurance. One tries to fix things upstream to be better overall while the other drops an "Inspected by #42" on anything that isn't obviously unsellable.

roshin 3y ago

Sigh, I guess this will just continue the trend of companies not being able to provide customers what they want due to the litigious nature of the US court system. Gone are the days where kids can push themselves to the limit on the playground and learn that falling is not good.

8bitsrule 3y ago

1) Make the paper cups thick enough so that when you're handed one, the lid doesn't pop loose because of the pressure it takes to grasp it firmly. 2) Any product that's served hot enough to scald if it falls on skin is an invitation for a lawsuit. Glad she got $3M.

ApolloRising 3y ago

Title is wrong per the actual article copy (Clickbait Titles): "the law museum said. The plaintiff in that case was initially awarded nearly $3 million, but she settled for less, around $480,000, after an appeal."

gumballindie 3y ago

Back when i was still drinking Starbucks’ coffee i always had to ask for not too hot or to pour some cold milk on top. I dont understand their fixation with lava hot drinks. Perhaps to kill off any bacteria and viruses that may be lingering in their cups? Because it certainly doesnt taste good when it’s as hot as not to be able to drink it.