McDonald's pays $35,000 to girl burned by tea

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I have spilled black coffee on me at McDonald's before,and I don't give my grandaugther a hot drink in the car!!!!
- Gordon, Ossipee

Decades ago a woman won a lawsuit for millions from coffee she spilled on herself from a McDonalds. That was absurd. Then the cups were labeled with " CAUTION HOT ". I thought that would at least warn people and also protect McDonalds from any lawsuits pending from the idiocy of this unfortunate accident.
Maybe the girl's medical bills could have been paid but thousands for pain and suffering? Whe someone's got to be to blame for what an idiot does it can get out of hand.
- j, Manchester

Really, Jim? I did read the article. Can you tell me, regarless of the lid situation, who tipped the cup? The employee is making $10 an hour, guess what... they're human. They make mistakes. Just like the girl or mother did when they tipped the cup. Accidents happen. I'm just saying people shouldn't sue for them. It's morally abhorrent to recieve $35,000 for $2,000 in medical bills, which seems like a quick trip to the ER, with no extensive damage.
Make sure you note people, if you accidentally trip someone, or anything of the like, and they go to the ER, even if they don't need to, they could sue you for $35,000.
- Samantha, Manchester, NH

Learn to read you whining cynics. Had the employee placed the cover on correctly, this girl would not have been burned. The employee was NEGLIGENT in doing his/her job and by doing so, caused a severe burn.
- Jim Wilson, Manchester

I am disgusted by this. No wonder our country is in such a shambles. Establishments can no longer sell hot beverages without fear of being sued? My god, people...what ever happened to "Accidents Happen"? Apparently, there are no more accidents, and when anything happens, someone else is at fault, and of course... They should have to pay!! What happened to personal responsibility? What happened to human decency? There have been times that my coffee lid has not been on the cup properly. Guess what I do before I move the car? I make sure the lid is fixed. If I didn't, hot coffee on my lap would be my fault, not the vendors.
- Samantha, Manchester, NH

I think child services needs to get involved here and look into why the parent handed their child hot tea. I think that's child abuse and that the parent should be charged with abuse.
- tracy, manchester

Settlement for reimbursement from an attack that led to death: $5,000

Careless tea drinker: $35,000

Hmm....
- Donna Raymond, Largo, FL

Sounds like we have a bunch of people in here who hate McD just for the sake of hating.I order something hot it better be hot and I usually wait a few minutes to comsume it.Someone tippped the cup!not the McD employee someone in the car.The point of $2G for a hospital visit is absolutly valid nothing really happened that laying out in the sun wouldn't do too yea.
- Kevin, Biloxi,MS

We all know how hot the coffee is at McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts ,etc. So instead of whining about it here why don't we ALL do something about it and talk to manager of our local store to decrease the temp by a couple of degrees?
- Heather Dixon, keene

Jules, the coffee case from a few years ago at "first" seemed frivolous unless you actually read the transcript of the case. McDonalds CHOSE to brew their coffee 20 degrees hotter than coffee made in a home coffee maker because the shelf life was longer according to taste tests. At that temp you have less than 3 seconds to get the hot water off of you before 3rd degree burns. Standard temp you have 30 seconds. The customer was NOT driving when it spilled but had pulled over and parked. She put the coffee cup between her knees to open the little perforation to sip from and the cup crumpled and tipped into her lap. The burn pictures were horrendous.
The jury asked what two days coffee profits was for McDonalds (since their decision on the temp was profit based) and that is the amount they awarded---which was later reduced. McDonalds had been sued hundreds of times before this for similar situations that were not as bad. The worst was an elderly woman who DIED as a result of a coffee cup being dropped by the window server as it was handed out the window, bounced on the car door into the car and spilled over the customer's chest. She got an infection and died while in the hospital.
- fran, New Hampton

With apologies to the unfortunate girl who was burned, this story is a bit of comic relief from all the other stuff going on in the world, as many of the comments demonstrate. Absurdity always has a lighter side, and this story is certainly absurd.
- Skip M, Ossipee

I had an ice cream there last week and got a case of "brain freeze." I think the ice cream was too cold when the server handed it to me--I'm going to have to call Robin Curtis to get some cash.
- Bill, Auburn

Sorry this happened to this child. But it is easy to see lawyers will take on any case to make a buck .And in the end ....Guess who pays for it ?
- G. Paul, Concord

I suspect that some of the posters here have no idea what it is like to be really burned by a cup of hot tea. It can be very bad.

It took at least a couple of months for me to heal, and I have scars for life (thankfully in a very discrete place).

It is worse than you think.
- Kevin, Merrimack

Doctors and Lawyers can fix lots of things, but,you just can't fix stupid!
- Dave, Brentwood

I am amazed at all the comments about a 14 year old receiving food from a drive through. Often times I will pull past the drive through and let one of the kids in the back seat handle the transaction.

The employee's never seem to have an issue collecting money and handing food to a passanger in the back seat.

Just amazing how that can happen
- Jeff, Concord

who orders hot tea at the end of August??
- tim, Derry

God Bless America!
- Tom, Laconia

Here's another thing the article doesn't elaborate. This was a settlement, and because it involved a minor, had to be approved by a judge. It's called a friendly suit. Essentially, the judge approves the settlement so when the girl turns 18, she can't turn around and say, my parents weren't looking out for my best interests at the time and I want more money. The "others people" who are part of the suit are the parents of the girl, who bring the case in her name because she's a minor.
- Bob, Hampstead

Jules...unsecured lid or not, in order for the tea to spill, the cup would have to be tipped over somehow....
We've completely lost any and all sense of accountability in this country.
Not to mention, unlike coffee, YOU BOIL WATER TO MAKE TEA!!! OF COURSE IT'S HOT! I'd send it back it if wasn't.
And, the the person who thinks there should be a law banning hot beverages at the drive-thru...my god....what's wrong with you? What's next? Banning ovens and stoves in the household? No more grills on the patio, folks...sorry. All food will be consumed in bubble wrap coated rooms, while wearing protective clothing.
- Bob, Hampstead

I guess McDonald's and all the other purveyors of HOT beverages should just stop selling them, then there is no chance for the UNWITTING consumer to have an ACCIDENT. Minimally they should make people come into the restaurant to purchase HOT beverages so they can individually monitor the exact temperature before giving to the customer, price $10.
- Laurie, Manchester

These fast food chains have machines that brew their teas and coffee. The machine reaches the desired temp on it's own...probably chosen to meet company standards and such.

Hot tea is just that...HOT. Be careful...and this generation dumbfounds me because I"ve never once thought to sue anyone for an ACCIDENT. I dunno, but sounds a bit played up to me.
- Joe, Derry

I like how some people feel they have the right to tell everyone else how hot they should take their coffee and tea. We have an "OSHA compliant" cooler with a hot water dispenser at work. It's great for making lukewarm tea, which is disgusting. So because of idiotic lawsuits like this, everyone has to put the lukewarm water in the microwave to raise it to an acceptable temperature. That ends up being far more dangerous because if you overheat water in a microwave, it can explode out of the cup when you remove it leaving you with serious burns on the face.

If you're ordering a hot beverage and don't want to be burned, don't order it from a vehicle. Obviously the cup is going to slosh around as soon as you pull away from the drive thru. Also, check the lid. Mistakes happen. I check the lid when I buy milk at the grocery because I don't want milk all over the trunk of my car. If I was buying something that could cause burns, you better believe I'd make sure the cover was on tight!
- Alex, Nashua

I actually agree 100% with Jake from Manchester.
- TC, Manchester

It wasn't ICE tea. it is suppose to be hot.
Any intellegent species knows those lids do not snap on very tight. My mother never let me have tea or coffee as a kid. now I know why!
- Soapopera, Franklin

As others have pointed out, there is no way the employee handed the girl the tea. She's 14 and could not have been driving. Maybe the mother loosened the lid passing it to her daughter.

Did is spill right there at the window or after they drove away? Did Mom hit a bump?

What do you think would happen if a law was passed that no hot drinks could be served via a drive up window?
- DJ, Amherst

The much maligned hot coffee incident was not frivolous and neither is this. The law stipulates the maximum temperature at which hot beverages can be served. If a restaurant exceeds that temperature, they are negligent. In the case of the famous hot coffee incident, the same restaurant had received prior warnings and violations regarding the coffee temperature and still failed to correct the situation until someone was injured. McDonald's and the victim deserved what they got, and if it hadn't been ridiculed maybe alot of restaurants would learn an important lesson: coffee and tea SHOULD NEVER CAUSE SECOND DEGREE BURNS.
- Brian, W. Manch

Slurpees have warnings on the cups that state that brain freeze may result.
- Larry, Nashua

So, with burns on her left forearm, was she driving illegally, did the employee hand her the cup in the back seat, did her mother squeeze the cup too hard taking it out of the cup carrier and spill it on her or what.

The employees testimony in this story would have been helpful here.

And to think, in all my 20+ years or so, of drinking Mickey D coffee 4-5 days a week, I have yet to get a defective lid. At least 5200 cups of scalding coffee and still going burn free.
- Paul Scorpio, Providence, Rhode Island

Re: the similar McDonald's coffee suit that was mentioned...McDonald's knew their coffee was too hot and was burning customers. They felt it was cheaper to settle lawsuits than change the coffee machines in all their restaurants. They should have punitive damages in a lawsuit for this type of greedy corporate behavior. Read the Constitution...the 7th Amendment in particular.
- RW, Manchester Nh

This time it's hot tea, not coffee. When will McDonald's learn not to serve hot beverages?

As if that 35k is going to help heal those wounds. Okay maybe for a short time...but once that cash is gone...she'll be right back at McD's.
- Reed M. Lipson, Manchester NH

Did any of you actually read the details of the story?

This is not at all like the frivolous "hot coffee" suit a few years back.

This girl had to be treated at Dartmouth Hitchcock and it burned her hand, thigh, forearm and lap. This was a result of a McDs employee not securing a lid and effectively burning the child. The parents and the girl did not do anything that lacked common sense nor was this lawsuit a gold digging scheme.

The girl had actual injuries and she and her parents had to spend time at the hospital and at various follow up visits. They were not made rich by this settlement and the girl may actually be scarred physically by the negligence of the restaurant.

There are many cases that should be condemned for their lack of merit, but this is not one of them.
- Jules, Manchester

Don't worry. The money will slip thru her fingers by the end of next year. She won't even know where it went. The lawyer pockets a cool $8200 just for writing it up.

I sat on a jury not too long ago where a woman was suing her neighbor for falling due to her own stupidity. To my surprise half the people wanted to give her money. I was the hold out and eventually she got nothing.
- Bill, Exeter

Stupid is as Stupid Does.
- Forrest G., Manchester

Why would you serve a beverage that is hot enough to scald flesh? It is not even drinkable at that temperature. It doesn't make sense to pass something that hot to someone in a car.
- Jeff, Manchester

When are people going to STOP SUING?

If I get a pizza and bite into it, and it's too hot and burns the inside of my mouth...SHOULD I SUE?

When I open a hot bag of popcorn and it burns my mouth...SHOULD I SUE?

OMG...enough said
- m1e1b1s1, claremont, nh

WOW!!! I need to set up a blog that HOT tea is actually HOT. Who knew?
- Eric, Waukesha WI

This is yet another example of people refusing to take responsibility for their own actions. We, as a society, are very good at that. We sue instead of accepting the blame that belongs on our shoulders. The liability coverage that every company must carry these days helps drive up the cost of every product and every service. So we have no one to blame but ourselves - but we'll blame someone else instead...
- Jay, Hampton

Does NH have laws that prevent drive-thru's from serving coffee/tea over certain temperature? Some states do, and I think this could have been in the court records.
It's very possible McD's broke the law here. It's interesting that this point of view wasn't covered in the article. Many of these types of cases are decided not because the customer spilled the drink, but because the drink shouldn't have scalded the customer had the drive-thru followed the law.
- Breyer S., Manchester, NH

Sherry,
In the coffee burn case that caught national headlines a decade ago, McDonalds was found liable for brewing their coffee too hot.....Prior to that lawsuit, McDonalds conducted a voluntary "in store" survey. The number one answer to the question about how they can improve their coffee? Make it hotter. so, McDonalds met their customer's demands and it came back to bite them.
Tea is a completely different animal, though. Tea is made by boiling water....everyone who makes tea at home boils the water. Coffee is not meant to be brewed with boiling water.
- Bob, Hampstead

give me a break, 1st thing I do is check lids to make sure they are one correctly. $35,000.00 for a loose lid. Her parents are really teaching her how to work the system. This is what is wrong with this country, you can sue and get tons of money without deserving it.
- Cheryl, Woburn, MA

anyone else in the mood for a HOT HOT tea? i'm going now, wish me luck
- james, manchester

"Parents should be jailed for bringing their kids to McDonalds. Eating there is no different than handing a crack pipe to a child. - Jake, Manchester"

Actually, Jake...it's very different. Crack can kill you instantly, McDonalds fast food cannot. Crack can be addictive from the first puff. McDonalds cannot be addictive from the first bite.

On the note of this lawsuit...I'm with everyone else in questioning how the McDonalds employee handed a 14-yr old the hot tea unless she was illegally driving. Sorry that she got burned, but thats fishy. And in any event, why is she getting roughly $20,000 more than what her medical bills were? McDonalds gets jacked once again by people lacking common sense. Sorry Ronald!
- Bill, Manchester

They do serve the drinks way too hot. If it takes too long to be able to drink it then somethings wrong! Hopefully they will tone it down someday.

This girl deserves every penny, McD's can afford it first of all, second the temp is ridiculous.....A young girl shouldnt have to go through this....If the temp. wasnt so hot she may have just had to go home and change!!!
- ANN, Manchester

Looks to me like another case of "entitlement" kicking in, and common sense falling to the wayside. Judging by comments, it's apparent some commentors feel a sense of entitlement as well.

Eva, Laconia,
Come on now, you ordered HOT tea. I know I use CAUTION when accepting the HOT BEVERAGE I order from the establishment , and should I get a couple of drops or a minor spill, and some skin discomfort out of not being CAREFUL, then it's my own fault. I don't go suing someone for MY mistake and stupidity.
- mnx, andover

Tort reform people. This is a perfect example of American laziness and social/legal irresponsibility.
- Leon P., Manchester

Evidently McDonald's and Liberty Mutual felt that $35K was fair...or else they knew she would get more if they didn't settle. They should be thanking this family for settling.
- DM, Hampton

I'm suing McDonalds for psychological damage, because I want to buy tea from them but I'm concern I may burn myself which is causing me great distress....I'm suing for a $100,000...my lawyer expects them to settle for $50,000!

This is just unbelievable...how do we not know that the girl took the lid off to cool the tea??? I hope the parents of the Exeter girl are proud of the fine example they have set in pursuing the American dream..."Don't work for it, sue for it!"
- Mike, Epping

This is the perfect story for the UL to get everyone on their highhorse. Everyone already knows about and has issues with these type of McDonald stories. This one seems reasonable. faulty lids? should McD's tea be hot enough to give 2nd degree burns? I've spilt hot drinks by accident and never was burned that bad. Save your outrage for more outrageous lawsuits than this.
- J Paige, Manchester

How about making the parent(s) or guardian liable for this act. McDonald's is no more to blame than the parent(s) or guardian of this child. Just another example of people looking for something for free. This is a real problem in our society because people set themselves up for these types of things all the time. The judge that ruled in her favor should be ashamed of himself. I would bet this girl's family was seeking much more, so I guess we should be glad it was only $35K.
- Jon, Manchester

Once again common sense goes out the window.
- Steven, Manchester

Mike in Raymong you nailed it. Before the day of radical judges and lawyers accidents such as this were not get rich quick schemes.

This is the same type of thing that happens to the health care industry and doctors and yet our leaders refuse to add honest TORT reform to the health care bills they introduce.
- Deb, Derry

When is McDonalds learn that there lids are defective, especially the small cup lids? How much money do they have to pay out in insurance claims before they wake up and change the lids? Careless and hasty application of the lids by the service window personnel causes many of these problems.
- Dave, Hebron

Oh brother. We are a sue happy nation. People being stupid and not paying attention and they get to sue. Wonderful.
- amy, go

Can we sue if the tea isn't hot enough and we get a tummy ache?

Covering her medical bills would seem to be the right thing to do. Above & beyond that, just laywers taking their 1/3 and driving up insurance costs for everyone
- Mike, Raymond

I thought the warning in the side of their hot beverage cups were enough to cover McD's from something like this.
- D-D, Manchester

Parents should be jailed for bringing their kids to McDonalds. Eating there is no different than handing a crack pipe to a child.
- Jake, Manchester

I may be incorrect here but a friend of mine once sued s drunk driver who crashed into her car, when she received her settlement she had to pay all of the expenses her medical insurance coveraged. If that is the norm for these situations her $24,000.00 after legal fees is going down by the $2,000.00 of her actual medical expenses.

Two additional points -
Blisters and a spotty rash do not cause scaring, her total medical expenses were $2,000.00 - sounds like a trip to the ER and a tube of OTC burn ointment.

Since when do drive thru employees hand drinks to anyone but the driver? Since when do 14 year olds legally drive in this state?
- Catherine, Manchester

I think the point of it is that McDonalds serves their hot drinks TOO hot. Is there a point to that? I can't drink their tea or coffee for almost 20 minutes after I get it. Does it REALLY have to be THAT hot? Hopefully, they'll take that into consideration as they keep having to settle these.

If this had happened to me, you bet I would have sued. I would have expected that my medical expenses be paid, I be compensated for any work that I missed, and that they throw me some extra for my pain and suffering. Blistering burns in your thigh area...how would you feel if that happened to you? OUCH!
- Sherry D., Concord

This is one of those stupid lawsuits that the judge should have thrown out. Hot beverages are hot. I would be mad if a hot beverage I bought was not hot. McDonalds should watch over this family and any time any child gets a scrape while in the care of this girl's parents, they should be charges with parental neglect.
- Tom P, Ashland

Hey Lyle

What does banning that family have to do with anything??? This poor girl had nothing to do with improperly putting the cover on the hot tea let alone spilling it on herself! Lets wait and see if this ever happens to you & we all can say the same to you! This family had every right to get compensation for the injuries suffered whether it was mcdonalds or any other restaurant. When you go out to eat you should be confident that you wont be injured or killed when ordering a burger or hot tea!
- Eva, Laconia

OR it can pay for plastic surgery to cover her scars, if she has some - 14 is a tough time for a girl to look different. And if it does pay for her first year in college, so what? She got hurt and that's what the insurance is there for! It's not like she got a million .... this is reasonable!
- Dina, ROchester

Seriously?! Its hot tea. Buyer beware.
- Kevin, Pembroke

"When the scalding hot tea was handed to the girl by a McDonald's employee"

How does a 14 year old recieve a cup of hot tea from a McDonald's drive through employee?

I have been to many drive through windows and the food and beverage is handed to the driver of the vehicle.

Does West Leb allow 14 year olds to dtive?
- Kurt, Hancock

So really - is McDonalds now going to have to refuse to serve hot drinks to minors?

Actually - the article says the employee handed the drink to a 14 year old at the drive thru? Was this kids parents allowing an underaged driver or is the lawyer lying about who handed the drink to the child? Seems more likely the parent - or some other legally aged driver - handed the drink over to the passenger and spilled it. But I'm sure that person didn't have enough money to sue so they went after McDonalds.
- tracy, manchester

This is a little old but relevant.

As of Dec. 2004, McDonalds had settled 700 prior incidents of severe burns from their coffee (which was 20 degrees hotter than any other restaurants). Shriner's Burn Institute in Cincinnati had published warnings to the franchise food industry that its members were unnecessarily causing serious scald burns by serving beverages above 130 degrees Fahrenheit - McDonalds served their coffee at 180 degrees.
- David, Keene

This one's gonna get a lot of comments. It's too bad that the girl got burned, and maybe McD's should've covered the healthcare expenses, but $35,000 seems like a bit much. That's like what three fast food workers make in a year combined.
- Mike, Manchester

Oh no! Now McDs is going to have to raise the price of tea by a penny to invest in better caps or better training on how to put the caps on.
- Rich, Manchester

Unbelievable! This is what America has come to. 2,000 bucks covers nothing in our health care system. If I were McDonalds, I would never allow that family in any of my stores again!
- Lyle, Manchester

That settlement is just about enough to pay for 1 year at a mediocre college. Hooray!
- Sam L., Derry