-Yes it is sad that an old woman was injured so badly. However the point of law isn’t simply award money to pitiable people, but to deter bad behavior. Let’s look at the objectively, not from the point of view of the pitiable old lady.

-185 degrees F is a base standard for good coffee. High quality home coffee makers make it at LEAST at this temperature and usually higher. Also, the most successful restaurants in terms of coffee hand out their coffee at a similar or even higher temperature. This includes places such as Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and, to this day, McDonald’s – the bit about them lowering their temperature is completely false as it is company policy to keep the coffee between around 175-190. Yes, it is a very hot temperature. It is also, however, an industry standard which people enjoy. If they didn’t the market would demand a lesser temperature.

-700 complaints of coffee burns over 10 years is very miniscule. We are talking numbers around 10 BILLION cups served, at least. There is a better ratio for being struck by lightning by a pretty hefty margin. Also keep in mind that these complaints were not all the same as this one. They ranged in severity and accountability.

-The woman did herself no favors. She attempted to balance the cup between her legs as she opened the cover, was wearing a fabric which soaked in the coffee and pressed it tight to her skin, and sat burning in a puddle of the stuff for a good 90 seconds. It takes two to seven seconds to reach third degree burns at 185 degrees, correct? In the case they were claiming other restaurants they tested typically were around 20 degrees less. At 165 degrees for 90 seconds, the injuries she suffered would be nearly the same.

-The woman’s medical bills were $11,000. $20,000 was simply too much, especially considering it was her own negligence and clumsiness which caused the injury. That was the lowest amount she ever asked for. The next time she offered a settlement the number had somehow jumped up to $300,000.

-To say the $2.7 was punishment for McDonald’s ignoring other burn cases is simply ignorant. They had settled with others before, typically when one of their employees was responsible. Also to claim this number is reasonable blatantly ignores the fact that the judge disagreed or else he wouldn’t have reduced the amount so significantly.

-To say this case prevented further injury is also downright ignorant. Temperature for good coffee has only raised since then, if anything, and the only things which have changed since the incident is the size of the warning label which, let’s be honest, is completely worthless. Everyone knows coffee is hot and everyone ignores the warning because they know it.

Now let’s be simple about this. McDonald’s handled the situation supremely arrogantly and poorly. This does not make them any more at fault for the situation. It was the woman’s clumsiness which spilled the coffee and she sat in it long enough in the worst conditions that she would have been severely burned no matter the place she got it from as long as it was fresh. I can buy a 100 lbs. air conditioner, try carrying up the stairs only to have my pants catch on something and overbalance only to fall and break my back, but do we say it’s the seller’s fault for giving me an air conditioner that was too big? Would it have even made a difference should it have been half the weight?

Other than that, millions of customers now get cold coffee because ONE PERSON can’t figure out how to add cream and sugar without dumping the entire contents in their groin. Makes me wonder how she survived to 79.

Looks to me like you are looking for a little bit of cash. Common sense seems to have left the building.

this case is a fiasco no matter how you look at it. It’s just people being too lazy to take responsibility for their actions and trying to blame someone else for their mistakes