The case of Stella Liebeck: the woman who sued McDonalds over a coffee and won $2 million

In 1992, Stella Liebeck ordered a new cup of coffee from a cafeteria McDonald’s, in Albuquerque, USA. Her nephew, who was driving, stopped in the parking lot so she could add cream and sugar to the beer without suspecting what would happen a second later.

With no cup holder, Liebeck rested the cup between his knees, but spilled the coffee, suffered third-degree burns, sued McDonald’s, and later he was awarded nearly $2.9 million in damages, about $5 million in today’s money.

The case has become an example of consumer litigation against large corporations. Indeed, Decades after Liebeck settled his case, lawsuits over McDonald’s hot coffee continue to reach courts around the world.

Hot drinks in consumer lawsuits

In Liebeck’s case, some have argued that he was responsible because he shouldn’t have balanced the coffee in the first place.

Others saw the lawsuit as a justified fight between David and Goliath, i.e., a retiree against one of the most famous fast food chains in the world.

Ultimately, the courts held that McDonald’s bore most of the blame for serving coffee that was too hot. A judge later reduced Liebeck’s award. However, the figure was millionaires.

Liebeck required numerous skin grafts and surgeries to heal the burns that covered 16% of his body. He died a decade after reaching an agreement.

Other lawsuits involving hot beverages have arisen over the years. A woman from Surrey, British Columbia, also in the United States, sued McDonald’s after a coffee spill at a drive-thru in 2011.

​ Another woman lost a lawsuit against Starbucks over a cup of hot tea in Sechelt, also in British Columbia, in 2017.

Also, a Winnipeg woman who suffered second- and third-degree burns after a cup of Tim Hortons green tea spilled on her lap in 2013, He called for a national regulation regulating the temperatures of hot drinks in restaurants.

More hot drink lawsuits in the US​

Another coffee-related lawsuit was filed against McDonald’s in the past year.worth $13 million.

Sherry Head, an Alabama woman, said workers served her a caramel macchiato that contained “harmful chemicals.”

The woman explained in her lawsuit that they also refused to call 911 after her mouth and throat started burning.r, and they didn’t let anyone read the label on the bottle that contained the liquid that intoxicated her.

According to the lawsuit, filed on Sept. 19, 2022, an employee initially told Head he couldn’t order coffee. because they were cleaning the car.

“Plaintiff drank a caustic chemical liquid and immediately began to experience a burning sensation and numbness in her mouth and throat,” the lawsuit states.