Rhode Island Accident Lawyer Blog
By David Tapalian October 6, 2015
Remember the 1992 story of the lady (Stella Liebeck) burned by the cup of coffee at McDonalds and how she was awarded $3 million in damages? If you dive into the facts of the case you will realize that this isn’t a sign of one woman’s greed and our over litigious society.
Contrary to rumors she was not driving or even operating the car when the spill occurred. She was a passenger holding the cup between her knees as she applied cream and sugar. As fate would have it the cup spilled and the very hot coffee poured all over her legs and groin. The burning was so bad because she had sweat pants on at the time and they acted as a sponge soaking up the coffee and keeping it pressed against her body.
At the hospital, doctors found that she had suffered third degree burns which required skin grafts. During this period she lost over twenty pounds during her eight-day stay at the hospital. Her medical costs were nearly $20,000.00. She contacted McDonalds and just tried to get her medical damages paid for. The company offered her $800!
She then wisely sought an injury attorney who then filed a negligence complaint against the company. Eventually her accident lawyer asked the company to settle for $90,000.00. The company refused. Just before trial was to begin her attorney asked for $300,000.00, which was also refused. After trial she was awarded $160,000 in damages plus $2.7 million in punitive damages which happened to be 2 days’ worth of coffee sales for the hamburger giant.
However she never received those millions. The judge reduced the punitive damages to $480,000. At the end of the day she settled for an amount less than $600,000. The moral of the story is if you think you have a personal injury case do not hesitate to talk to David Tapalian. The call is FREE and if you have a case we will get you compensated for your injuries.