February 27, 1992 –
Trying to get the lid off her McDonald’s coffee to add cream and sugar, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck accidentally splashes the 180-degree liquid on herself, causing third-degree burns to the thighs, genitals, and buttocks.
After skin graft surgery and weeks of recuperation, Liebeck asks McDonald’s to turn down the temperature of their coffee and pay $20,000 to defray her hospital bills. McDonald’s told the old lady go suck an egg, as they had done for a decade of similar burn claims. Ultimately, a jury awards Liebeck $2.9 million in the resulting lawsuit, which immediately triggers a renewed call for legislative tort reform and makes that one expense cup of coffee.
The Haus of Dcaligari 