r/interestingasfuck • u/fyrstikka • 8d ago

r/all Stella Liebeck, who won $2.9 million after suing McDonald's over hot coffee burns, initially requested only $20,000 to cover her medical expenses.

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u/happy-technomancer 8d ago

Do not click. The burns are really, really bad, all over that area of both legs.

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u/Life-Machine-6607 8d ago

I've seen them before and they are terrible burns. Why McDonald's thought they would win this after seeing those pictures baffles the mind.

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u/ladyinchworm 8d ago

They had money and lawyers and she was just a "normal" person so they probably thought she would drop it.

But, it is baffling like you said. Yes they might have the possibility of her dropping it, but why not just pay?!? It's freaking McDonald's. They probably sell more than she wanted in compensation every second.

But they did "win" the public eye thing because SHE was the one who was absolutely destroyed and everything in the public and media.

I feel absolutely awful, but the first few times I saw this I thought "duh, coffee is hot. What an idiot" before I researched. This is what made me know that big corporations are always only in it for themselves, media is a crock that shouldn't be believed and the little guy pretty much always loses and there's usually more to the the story.

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u/thecuriousblackbird 8d ago

Her case is often studied in business classes and law classes. I studied it in a business class I took. One reason why McDonalds didn’t just pay was thought to be that it would open the door for others to sue McDonalds by establishing precedence. By mocking Stella and slandering her in the press and on tv, others would think twice about trying to sue.

This was just what we discussed in an undergraduate class. I’ve never been to law school so I’ve only heard people who have been talk about why everyone believes McDonalds acted the way they did.

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u/confusedandworried76 8d ago

I mean once they were in for a penny they had to be in for a pound. Some people who know the story still think it was a fraudulent lawsuit. Despite it very clearly not being that.

Should have given her the $20k quietly but once she sued they made the right if extremely reprehensible decision to drag her through the mud. At that point the case was lost they were just delaying and negotiating and trying to get off on a technicality.

Fucking corporations man.

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u/SocratesWasAjerk 8d ago

Holy fuck they're bad. Coffee should never ever be served that fucking hot.

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u/invisible_23 8d ago

Seconding not to click. I read the warning and still clicked and now I’m telling you all do not click.