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ladybug8
LIF Adult
Member since 3/07 2660 total posts
Name:
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Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
It was an eye opener. It was about Tort Reform and caps on medical malpractice. They discussed the famous McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit and showed pictures of the burns that the woman had.  I had no idea the extent of her burns prior to this documentary. I just thought she was careless and was out to get some money from a big corporation. She needed skin grafts and when the family went to McDonalds for help with the medical bills, they were only going to give $800.
The also had a couple who sued their doctor because one of their twins has cerebral palsy because of doctor neglect. The jury awarded the family over 5 million dollars but, because of the cap in Nebraska, it had to be brought down to just over a million.
Did anyone else see it?
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Posted 6/30/11 10:23 AM  |
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Long Island Weddings
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partyof6
b nice like u want ur kidz 2
Member since 7/06 7752 total posts
Name:
jeannine
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Was this on tv? I def want to see this.
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| Posted 6/30/11 10:25 AM |
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ladybug8
LIF Adult
Member since 3/07 2660 total posts
Name:
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
It's on HBO on demand under documentaries then feature films.
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| Posted 6/30/11 10:33 AM |
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Bxgell2
Perfection
Member since 5/05 16438 total posts
Name:
Beth
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Yes; very disturbing, to say the least...
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| Posted 6/30/11 10:46 AM |
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J9-13
We're gonna be big sisters!
Member since 6/06 14887 total posts
Name:
J9
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Wow! I remember thinking the same thing about that McDonald's case.
I def. want to check this out. Thanks for sharing. 
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| Posted 6/30/11 10:56 AM |
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Songwriter76
LIF Adult
Member since 4/08 902 total posts
Name:
David
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
When this case happened, I remember people making fun of me because I supported this woman. Restaurants need to be more careful with stuff like that.
I drink my coffee black and at some places, I have to wait 30 minutes before it's warm enough for a human.
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| Posted 6/30/11 11:56 AM |
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yankinmanc
Happy Days!
Member since 8/05 18208 total posts
Name:
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
No, sounds interesting.
But last night I did watch Donor Unknown last night. That was one interesting story!"
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| Posted 6/30/11 12:02 PM |
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jerseychick
LIF Adult
Member since 4/09 3923 total posts
Name:
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
haven't seen it yet, but I have it dvr'ed and can't wait to watch it.
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| Posted 6/30/11 12:22 PM |
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lovemyfamily88
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/10 641 total posts
Name:
????
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Wow, I can't believe how bad her burns were. I had no idea!
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| Posted 7/1/11 3:20 PM |
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Erica
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 11767 total posts
Name:
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Posted by Bxgell2
Yes; very disturbing, to say the least...
ITA - like i needed more reasons to not like Karl Rove!
What I thought was interesting was how the jury came up with the number in the MacDonalds case...2 days of coffee sales. That sounds completely reasonable when put that way.
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| Posted 7/2/11 5:29 PM |
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MrsBurtch525
Year for change!
Member since 1/09 6017 total posts
Name:
Taryn
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Where can i watch that? Netflix does not have it and i don't have cable....
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| Posted 7/2/11 5:42 PM |
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cds58019
The loves of my life :)
Member since 6/08 4276 total posts
Name:
Candice
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Im just going to go ahead and say it.....
She ordered COFFEE! That really needs to come with a warning that it's hot?! Yes its horrible all of the burns she suffered but honestly, how is it McDonald's fault? Unless Im missing something I dont see why she felt the need to sue for SO much money. I mean if this happened at home would she have sued Foldgers?
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| Posted 7/2/11 6:38 PM |
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Kidsaplenty
Sister love
Member since 2/06 5971 total posts
Name:
Stephanie
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Posted by cds58019
Im just going to go ahead and say it.....
She ordered COFFEE! That really needs to come with a warning that it's hot?! Yes its horrible all of the burns she suffered but honestly, how is it McDonald's fault? Unless Im missing something I dont see why she felt the need to sue for SO much money. I mean if this happened at home would she have sued Foldgers?
If she suffered third degree burns, the temperature of the coffee had to have been between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Would you ever expect coffee that you bought somewhere to be THAT hot?
eta- I just looked it up and it said that McDonalds was serving their coffee at temps of 180- that would cause a third degree burn in seconds.
Message edited 7/2/2011 6:52:51 PM.
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| Posted 7/2/11 6:50 PM |
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MrsPJB2007
MBA at your service!
Member since 7/06 12020 total posts
Name:
MJ
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Posted by cds58019
Im just going to go ahead and say it.....
She ordered COFFEE! That really needs to come with a warning that it's hot?! Yes its horrible all of the burns she suffered but honestly, how is it McDonald's fault? Unless Im missing something I dont see why she felt the need to sue for SO much money. I mean if this happened at home would she have sued Foldgers?
The reasons discussed were:
McDonalds had 700 previous complaints concerning people being burned by their coffee...all of which went ignored, but documented in their quality control records.
In the training manual McDonald's standard operations for franchisees was that all coffee had to be kept at a holding temperature of 180-190 degrees. This was as much as 30-40 degrees higher than the industry standard at other establishments like Dunkin Donuts. Doctors stated that any liquid kept at that temperature, if it makes contact with the skin for more than few seconds can cause severe burns.
Because they were negligent in allowing this to continue, despite previous complaints, that is the reason the jury awarded punitive damages of over 2 million dollars.
What a lot of people don't know is that the judge lowered the amount to $480,000...but this is NEVER discussed...ever. People just assume she walked away with the full amount. (I'm sure she had to lose more than 1/3 of the amount for attorney's fees.)
The pictures of this woman's burn were positively horrible. I can't imagine how much pain she was in and how many skin grafts she would need. The jury did say she was 20% responsible for her injuries, and the award reflected that. But either way, it was lowered significantly.
ETA: She never sued for that amount of money -- the JURY after hearing the testimony are the ones who gave her that amount. The woman only wanted her medical bills covered. The punitive damages were decided on by the jury who felt that they needed to send a message to McDonald's for their continued negligence in not changing their standard operating procedures concerning the coffee temperature.
Message edited 7/2/2011 7:35:28 PM.
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| Posted 7/2/11 7:33 PM |
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Posted by MrsPJB2007
What a lot of people don't know is that the judge lowered the amount to $480,000...but this is NEVER discussed...ever. People just assume she walked away with the full amount. (I'm sure she had to lose more than 1/3 of the amount for attorney's fees.)
Yep, the fact that she did not get the huge jury award is one of those things that people never discuss. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me to defend everyone in my profession because of one case that so few people know the details of.
Another thing to ponder is that there is never, ever a case without a willing client, yet the everyone is quick to call the lawyers greedy.
And the last thing I will ask you to ponder is why the very people who ask me why such cases exist are always the first to run to try to file suit as soon as they skin their knees? Then when I ask how their actions jibe with their criticisms of the system they tell me, "well, my my case is different" or, "I was really hurt."
Message edited 7/3/2011 1:01:34 AM.
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| Posted 7/3/11 1:00 AM |
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MamaLeen
:)
Member since 10/09 4594 total posts
Name:
E
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
I just watched this last night, it was an eye opener. Thanks for recommending! I felt horrible for all of those people.
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| Posted 7/3/11 7:53 AM |
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Erica
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 11767 total posts
Name:
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
The woman only wanted macdonalds to cover what medicare didn't cover and macdonalds to change their lid. I think a lot of us forget those clumsy tops of the 80s/early 90s. The jury awarded her (which she did not get and the point of the doc...our 7th amendment rights being taken away) 2 days of coffee sales...out of 365...not including all of macdonalds other drink and food sales.
If anyone kept their water heater at 190 degrees they would be locked away for child abuse...20 degrees less than boiling? Another point of the doc...big business is buying the judicialsystem and everyday citizens are the ones who lose.
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| Posted 7/3/11 10:21 AM |
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LadyH
April Baby Girl is Here!
Member since 12/07 1077 total posts
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Thanks for recommending that doc - it was amazing.
I've watched a few documentaries like that one and I'm stunned at how organized and sinister people like Karl Rove and **** Cheney actually are - and how much damage their greed does to the country.
I loved the journalist who talked about how her industry has not been doing their jobs.
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| Posted 7/3/11 11:51 PM |
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JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
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Re: Did anyone see the documentary Hot Coffee?
Was just watching this. I was more outraged by the funding of the judges by big business under us chamber of government which is really just big business. It was so disturbing how they influence elections.
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| Posted 7/4/11 10:07 AM |
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