From before I became a lawyer in 1997, I have heard jokes about “people getting rich from spilling coffee on themselves.” This all stems from a case that started back in 1992 when an older woman was severely burned due to a McDonalds coffee lid not being secured. While the case eventually settled for an undisclosed sum, the woman was awarded $2.9 million by a jury.
What most people do not know is that the third degree burns she suffered in her pelvic region were so severe that she was hospitalized for eight days. She had skin grafts and two years of medical care. She originally tried to settle for just $20,000 to cover her medical bills. When McDonald’s refused, she sued. During the trial it came out that the store kept its coffee much hotter than other local retailers did. It was also disclosed that McDonald’s had over 700 reports of burn injuries in the decade prior to this.
So whole many people joke that this was a frivolous lawsuit, it was actually quite legitimate. The reality is that lawyers do not take on cases they know have no merit and juries do not award such large sums when it is not deserved.
And while they have not gotten the same level of publicity, there continue to be similar cases filed for negligence in hot coffee spills. In fact a jury in Los Angeles last year awarded $50 million to a woman who ordered three secret menu items from an LA Starbucks. One of those drinks was not properly secured and caused a significant burn to the penis of the customer. This caused disfigurement, nerve damage and makes sex a very painful experience.
Of significance in this case is that video footage clearly showed that one of the drinks was not properly secured which caused it to spill seconds after the customer took it.
These cases are about negligence. It is no different than you walking into a store and slipping on a recently mopped floor where there wasn’t a wet floor sign or getting rear-ended at a stoplight by someone who was on their phone. And it is essentially the same as ordering coffee at a sit down restaurant and having the waiter trip and spill it all over you. All of these acts happen due to negligence and the remedy for that is to bring a lawsuit.
There have been similar lawsuits filed in Illinois. Every case is fact dependent. We would need to know why there was a spill, what your injury was and what medical care you received. And while most cases are not worth millions, many are worth in the high five figures or somewhere in the six figures.
The 1992 McDonald’s case does make these cases a little more challenging because for many potential jurors it is all they know about personal injury law and they are not actually aware that case was very legit. But when you have good facts and can prove the business you got coffee from was negligent, you likely have a case and can make a recovery to pay your medial bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.
If you would like a free Illinois personal injury case review, give us a call at 312-346-5320 to speak with a lawyer any time. All calls are confidential and every case is handled on a contingency basis which means you only pay if you win the case.
