After listening to the arguments in the Stella Liebeck & McDonald's Coffee case I find in favor with Mrs. Liebeck. Stella Liebeck, 79, suffered severe burns after she spilled coffee on herself. She purchased the coffee at a drive-through owned and operated by fast-food giant McDonald's. She was not the driver of the car and the coffee was spilled while the car was parked. That is, Ms. Liebeck's grandson had pulled the car to the curb and the vehicle was stationary before she placed the cup of coffee between her knees and attempted to remove the lid for the purpose of adding cream and sugar. As she lifted one side of the lid, the coffee spilled onto her lap. Immediately, the coffee was absorbed by her sweatpants. Her clothing forced what was later learned to be "super-heated coffee" against her skin. Ms. Liebeck's injuries were severe. She suffered full thickness burns (third-degree burns) and scalding to her inner thighs, groin and buttocks. She was in the hospital for eight days and had to undergo extremely painful procedures to remove layers of dead skin, as well as several graft operations. The McDonald's coffee Ms. Liebeck purchased was served at a temperature of between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. For home use, coffee is generally brewed at 135 to 140 degrees. If spilled on skin, any beverage heated to between 180 and 190 degrees will cause third-degree burns in two to seven seconds. For these reasons this is why I find in favor of Mrs. Liebeck. First, since the coffee was superheated, much higher then home coffee or from any other restaurants. Second, that McDonalds had failed to take responsibility in warning their consumers and making them aware of certain dangers. .
Since the coffee was raised to such a high and dangerous degree, you could say "superheated" without anyone probably knowing this could be pretty hazardous. McDonald's specified that its coffee should be served at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit.
