Food establishments must have a greater focus on consumer and employee safety than nearly any other place of business, and restaurant solicitors often have to handle particularly unique cases.
One of the strangest cases of all time in this regard, as well as one that was the subject of a lot of reporting that misrepresented its details, was Liebeck v McDonald’s Restaurants, more commonly known as the hot coffee lawsuit.
Stella Liebeck, born in Norwich but at the time residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ordered a cup of coffee on 27th February 1992. She planned to add cream and sugar to the drink but whilst resting the cup between her legs she spilt the drink on her lap.
Contrary to a lot of the reports the coffee had been served over 20 degrees Celsius hotter than is typically safe, and the coffee quickly caused third-degree burns and scalding injuries to her pelvic area, covering six per cent of her body.
She required a skin graft, was permanently disfigured and was partially disabled for two years following the ordeal, and sued Mcdonald’s with the intention to settle for roughly $20,000 (£16,200). They instead offered a mere $800 (£650).
Ultimately, the case found that Ms Liebeck herself was 20 per cent responsible whilst McDonald’s was 80 per cent responsible, awarding her $200,000 (£162,000), reduced by 20 per cent to $160,000 (£130,000).
They also awarded $2.7m (£2.1m) in punitive damages although this was considerably reduced to $480,000, and after several appeals, both parties settled out of court. This money paid for a live-in nurse for Ms Liebeck’s final years and she died in 2004 at the age of 82.
The legacy of the lawsuit is somewhat mixed due to the misrepresentation of the injury caused to Ms Liebeck, often being considered a frivolous suit in the process, which led to major effects on similar cases.
For example, the case of Bogle v McDonald’s [2002] was dismissed despite its similarities to the Liebeck case and the level of harm caused, and McDonald’s has not reduced the temperature at which it serves coffee.