Donga wrote:
> This is the country where a driver can sue a fast food shop for making
> the coffee too hot, causing scalding when he spills it on his crotch
> WHILE DRIVING. Surely a half-sensible judge, such as Judy, would say,
> "You were drinking coffee while in charge of a two-ton lethal weapon?
> Get out of my court you idiot."
This is a bit of an urban myth. Some aspects of the case:
* the victim was a 79 year old lady, and she was a passenger
* the car was stopped at the time
* she suffered 3rd degree burns to 6 percent of her body, was
hospitalised for 8 days, and needed skin grafts
* company policy was to maintain the coffee at a temperature of 185C
* documents showed that McDonalds had received over 700 complaints
about coffee burns in the four years prior to the incident
* her claim was for $20K but McDonalds chose to fight it. Jury awarded
her $160K in compensation plus $2.7 million in punitive damages
http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts