During the trial it was revealed that McDonald’s knew that heating their coffee to this temperature would be dangerous, but they did it anyways because it would save them money. When you serve coffee that is too hot to drink, it will take much longer for a person to drink their coffee, which means that McDonald’s will not have to give out as many free refills of coffee. This policy by the fast food chain is the reason the jury awarded $2.7 million dollars in punitive damages in the McDonald's hot coffee case. Punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant for their inappropriate business practice.
the truth is horrible. it was an Elderly lady who was Not driving. they parked right after getting their order and she was opening it up to add milk and sugar. you know like we used to do. Well this 180° + scalding nightmare 3rd degree burns this old woman's inner thighs...they only wanted McDonald's to pay for the medical bills that's it...the jury awarded her 2 days worth of coffee sales at 2 million dollars and McDonald's turned it into a shame on her fest. and it worked.