Can I Sue if Hot Coffee Burns Me?

Posted On May 29, 2017 In Personal Injury

Recent news of another hot coffee case has surfaced, this time against Starbucks. The infamous case involving a woman receiving third degree burns from McDonald’s coffee resulted in a huge product liability case. Although the Starbucks case is less severe, the woman affected received first and second degree hot coffee burns, and is getting a $100,000 settlement. She claimed that the lid was either defective or not properly secured by the employee, which caused the spill. Starbucks coffee is served at 190 degrees, quite hot, almost the same as the coffee was at McDonald’s at the time of the incident.  So, how can we determine how dangerous is too dangerous for consumer products?

How to Determine If a Product Is Too Unsafe

• What risk does the product pose? In hot coffee cases, many people assume that consumers should know that coffee is hot. But how hot is too hot? In both cases, it was determined that a 190 degree cup of coffee is excessively hot, more so than an average cup of coffee. A customer needs to be aware of a products potential danger.
• Have you checked for recalls? You can check the product in question online to see if there are any safety recalls involving it. Some manufacturers may have posted a recall but have not been able to contact you yet.
• Were there any warning labels/instructions? Starbucks admitted to getting multiple complaints about lids falling off, and did not equip their cups with warning labels about the lids. If there are no warning labels or safety instructions on your product, this could be a liability issue.

Consumer Reports Keep People Safe

In the McDonald’s coffee case, over 700 people had reported injuries from their coffee, and Starbucks had received many reports about their lids falling off. A company’s unwillingness to listen to safety claims from multiple people is not acceptable. The more people the company have ignored, the stronger your case could be. Record numbers of auto recalls are also happening right now, and recalls start with consumer complaints. Reporting your product injury could protect many others.

Taking on a large corporation or product manufacturer by yourself would be very difficult. If you have been injured by a dangerous product, Lufkin product liability attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC can use their experience taking on the big guys to represent you.