03-22-2006, 12:05 AM
In Aaron original post, it said that payments are made to be comensurate with the size of the company so equalize the punitive damages e.g. a big ass corporation is fined a greater deal of money to ensure they properly address the situation. If the fine was just 20k, McDonald's wouldn't have began regulating their coffee temps as they do now.
If the temp increase resulted in such a dramatic increase in both severity of burn and the time it took to occur, I would assume that McDonald's is liable to some extent. Increasing profit at the risk of the public health seems like bad policy.
In relation to capitalism, free markets don't equate to free for alls. Companies have to be held to acount for their actions every bit as much as we personal responsibilities, if not more so because the actions of a company can affect a great number of people.[/code]
If the temp increase resulted in such a dramatic increase in both severity of burn and the time it took to occur, I would assume that McDonald's is liable to some extent. Increasing profit at the risk of the public health seems like bad policy.
In relation to capitalism, free markets don't equate to free for alls. Companies have to be held to acount for their actions every bit as much as we personal responsibilities, if not more so because the actions of a company can affect a great number of people.[/code]
Two feet.