Speed bump video (now tort law discussion)

[G.Irish]

Hmmm...I believe the temperature was 180 degrees fahrenheit, but please don't think it's completely correct. The main thing here is that McDonald's, because they were using the cheapest coffee beans possible, had to use ABOVE AVERAGE temperatures in order to extract the flavor from the bean. This translates to temperatures that exceed the INDUSTRY STANDARD (by about 20 degrees, from what I remember), and this is what allowed the plaintiff to win this case. This seemingly minimal difference in temperatures actually raised the 3rd degree burn time from 3.5 seconds to about 16 seconds.

Ah interesting. But then the question is, did McDonald's know that the 3rd degree burn time would decrease from 16 to 3.5? I mean, I could be preparing chili at my Mexican restaurant and raise the temperature by 20 degrees. Should I be liable if someone spills the beans on their crotch? "Senor, these beans are 20 degrees hotter than the normal serving temperature of chili. You may receive 3rd degree burns if you happen to pour them on your nether region".

Sure, it is only logical that hotter food would burn someone more severely but is 20 degrees negligent? My point is that you cannot possible plan for every contingency when you prepare a product. Should Toyota have to say that death may result if I hit a tree with my truck at greater than 10 mph? They've obviously designed it to go much faster than that, they should at least put a warning label somewhere to let me know the risk right?

Even hearing more detail I still think that's BS. Even if you can say McDonald's was in the wrong, I don't think that's a $5 million wrong. Was her crotch rendered unusable or something?

Its interesting to know that in JMU's Coffee/Hot Chocolate vending machines, the cups do not mention a warning about the temperature of the product. There is only a tiny disclaimer about product being hot on the vending machine itself, nearly invisible to the consumer. I sense another "hot coffee" suit coming shortly...

That would be funny. I mean, it says "hot" on it, what more can you want? Maybe there should be warning labels on knives that say "Sharp: Improper use may result in deep lacerations which can lead to fatal blood loss". Or maybe beaches should have a disclaimer, "Danger, Water: Failure to keep head above water may result in death." Ooh, how about tall buildings , "Danger: Stepping off building from height may result in excessive acceleration towards ground and lethal deceleration upon hitting it."