Recently there was a discussion here where the topic of the lady who got burned after spilling McDonalds coffee in her lap. I can't find that discussion now but it was part of a discussion where we place blame on others regarding our weight instead of taking personal responsibility.
Yeah, when you see the photos of the actual burns, it's hard to label the lawsuit as frivolous.
Also, now having experienced being underinsured medically, I see that suing might have been the only way for the woman to pay for necessary, but extremely costly medical treatment.
Can you imagine how much torture (not to mention infection risk) going to the bathroom must have caused, during the months and months of recovery?
And when you consider that the award was based on only two days of McDonald's coffee profits (and only coffee profits), it sounds more like a slap on the wrist.
Send out coffee knowing (from previous injuries) that it could accidentally cause third degree burns and only being penalised 2 day's coffee profits (most of which was not going to ever go to the victim)?
I think sometimes "personal responsibility" is used as an excuse to place blame and then justify an unwillingness to help addrrss the larger problem.
I think that compassion (for ourselves and others) tends to work better than blame. Actually I don't just think this, I know it, as I've seen compassion's effects in action.
And when you consider that the award was based on only two days of McDonald's coffee profits (and only coffee profits), it sounds more like a slap on the wrist.
This is the most shocking of all. That Mcdonalds sees $2million dollars in profits from coffee alone in a day. It makes you wonder.... why minimum wage is soooo freaking low and people who work there aren't awarded health care and make too little to feed themselves or their families. I freaking hate these corporations.
This is the most shocking of all. That Mcdonalds sees $2million dollars in profits from coffee alone in a day. It makes you wonder.... why minimum wage is soooo freaking low and people who work there aren't awarded health care and make too little to feed themselves or their families. I freaking hate these corporations.
+1 Minimum wage needs to be raised, the CEO and top people can lose 40cents of their total earnings a yeah -_-
There's a really good documentary about the coffee burn case and other cases like it. It's available on Netflix and called "Hot Coffee". Enlightening, to say the least.
Unfortunately raising minimum wage rarely helps for more than a few months, because when minimum wage goes up, so does the cost of everything else.
I'm not sure how to prevent this without adopting some socialist strategies, and socialism is so taboo in this country, I don't see that happening.
In some ways, I think the accumulation and control of wealth has to become obsolete, for things to change. I'm not sure how that would happen, or if it wouldn't have a whole new set of problems.
I find it really hard to muster any outrage over these things even if it HAD been frivolous which I do not think it was.
What I do find outrageous are the actions of the rich and powerful. Wars for profits, not any goal other than profit no matter what lies we are told, that results in the deaths of thousands of Americans.
Selling mortgages to pension funds knowing they are bad. Enron gouging people in California around 10-15 years ago. Citizens being denied to right to vote over some mythical voter fraud that is rarer than getting struck by lightning. And on and on and on. I don't know why people look at the small fries and just ignore the massive crimes against us that the rich and powerful do every day. That makes anything a 'normal' individual does extreme chump change.
I had, of course, heard about this case, but never knew the whole story. For a long time I thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but knowing all the facts really does throw it into a whole new light. It just goes to show what a warped viewpoint people get when shown incomplete stories in the media.
After seeing this video, I really do feel sorry for the old lady. It must have been terrible, not only being burned but also the backlash from the public for so many years. She really didn't deserve it.
Lady spills coffee in lap and sues for millions
