When Jennifer Hyman sued McDonald’s for serving her hot coffee at too-high a temperature, she thought she had won. Hyman, who was diagnosed with scAlding burns to her arm after drinking coffee from a McDonald’s drive-thru, was awarded $2.
9 million by a jury in 2004.
But McDonald’s appealed the verdict, and in 2006, the California Court of Appeal overturned the jury’s decision, saying that the coffee Hyman drank was not hot enough to cause burns. The appeals court ruled that McDonald’s coffee was only lukewarm and not hot enough to cause injury.
“The coffee was only lukewarm and not hot enough to cause injury,” the appeals court ruled.
Hyman’s case has raised awareness about the dangers of scAlding injuries from coffee and has encouraged other people who have been injured by coffee to come forward and file lawsuits. McDonald’s has since changed its coffee brewing procedure, and now coffee is served at a safe temperature.
