"Hot Coffee" is named for the high-profile 1994 case of an elderly New Mexico woman, Stella Liebeck, who spilled McDonald's coffee on herself and sued. Comedians, journalists and politicians mocked her case, adding momentum to the effort to cap damage awards.
The film is an aggressive attempt to channel the public's sympathy back to plaintiffs — using Liebeck's case and others. In graphic detail, it shows Liebeck's third-degree burns that required hospitalization and skin grafts, and it notes Liebeck settled out of court for an undisclosed amount likely far less than her initial $2.9 million jury award.
Business groups are beginning to denounce the film. A spokesman for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform said it's as fanciful as the Flat Earth Society, while Victor Schwartz, who appears in the film as general counsel of the American Tort Reform Association, said he regrets participating in what he calls "the most effective piece of propaganda" that trial lawyers have ever put out. Read the whole story here...
Expert 1790 Wrote: As a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, I am often asked to evaluate patients who have been injured as a direct result of hot coffee being spilled. Fortunately, the majority of these spills do not result in permanent sequelae. However, when the temperature is higher than acceptable parameters, and/or there is prolonged contact with the coffee and the underlying skin, there may be permanent disfigurement. To assist in the understanding of the temperature of the coffee, we are able to ascertain the temperature of the offending hot fluid with the degree of injury to the underlying skin. An expert in this area can utilize pre-existing peer review scientific tables to ascertain the temperature of the hot liquid.
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