The McDonald's coffee burn case has long been portrayed as a defining example of the abuse of the American legal system, however the real facts of the case paint a very different picture from its media hype and a recent documentary reveals the truth of this now famous case.  The plaintiff, 79-year-old Stella Leibeck, spilled coffee on herself while sitting in a parked car.  She proceeded to sue McDonald's for her injuries, and was awarded over $2 million.  

This part most people know.  Less commonly known is that her injuries were so severe that her doctors thought, for a time, that she would die. More, the investigation surrounding the case revealed that McDonald's commonly kept coffee at temperatures between 170 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit, temperatures hot enough to cause 3rd degree burns in only seconds.  Burns of that nature require long term and extremely painful treatments including skin grafts and debridement, and leave the victim with lifelong disfigurement.  McDonald's admitted at trial that when served, the coffee is too hot for consumption.  They went on to admit that consumers were not aware of the risk, but that the McDonald's corporation was and just did not choose to warn its customers.  In fact, despite hundreds of previous burn lawsuits, McDonald's continued to keep their coffee above 170 degrees Fahrenheit, some 40 to 50 degrees higher than other restaurants, as a cost cutting measure.  The hotter the coffee, the longer it could sit.  

At the time Stella Leibeck received her ruling, McDonald's was grossing $1.3 million of profit a day from coffee sales alone.  In rendering its $2 million dollar verdict, the jury no doubt took this into consideration when determining how to compensate the victim and teach McDonald's a lesson they might finally listen to.  The previous burn cases and related verdicts had not been enough for McDonald's to change its ways.  

What is perhaps most astounding is that despite its continued negligence, in the face of repeated lawsuits and warnings, and in spite of huge profits reaped from this behavior, McDonald's was portrayed as the victim.  Susan Saladoff's recent documentary takes on the myths of this case which became the poster child for tort reform.  With a campaign of careful media spin on the part of political interest groups and not surprisingly, insurance companies looking to decrease pay outs and increase profits, the facts of this case were twisted into an unrecognizable icon of legal abuse.  Hot Coffee, unravels the truth and reveals the careful omissions to paint a full and accurate picture of Stella Leibeck's plight and in the process, she reveals some disturbing truths about the purchasing of justice in America.  Hot Coffee can be seen on HBO or the official movie website.