Sorry Jack but I have to speak up about the McD's comment especially since I see it referenced frequently in discussions about excessive litigation. "We are a litigious society as Julio pointed out --- at least here in the U.S. McDonald's cups of coffee will burn us and kayaks will kill us, so both have disclaimers written on them." When I first heard of the lady who was suing McD's because she put a hot cup of Java between her knees and then tried to drive away but instead popped the top off the cup, I was not really amused. Just another frivolous lawsuit. What I heard as a result of the case made me think, remember an incident I had at McD's one morning and changed my opinion. The core of her argument was that McD's was selling coffee that had a temperature that was near boiling. That McD's not only KNEW their restaurants were doing this but that it was company policy AND they knew people where complaining about being burned by the high temperatures of McD coffee. Remember this lady got SECOND degree burns from the coffee, we are not talking about just a stained dress. I know my coffee maker does not produce coffee at that high of a temperature and my understanding is that high temperature brewing produces bad/bitter tasting coffee. So why was McD's ignoring complaints of the high temperatures of their coffee? Because they had a free refill policy. SOoooo, really hot coffee takes awhile for the liquid to cool to drink, means the customer finishes their meal, still has coffee, and does not get a refill. McDs save a few cents per coffee drinker..... Personally I think they deserved to get sued. After I heard this I realised that the allegations were true. At about the time the lady was burnt I got coffee at McD's and not only was it to hot to drink, it burnt my lips and tongue, I went and bought some juice to drink with my breakfast. So McDs go MORE money out of me because of the hot coffee. I was only able to drink the coffee well after I had left the restaurant. Hot coffee can be very good for business. But not as one would expect. But I do agree totally that there is simply to much litigation in the United States. I just think the McD case is not a good example to use. BTW: The lady did win the case and McD's is supposed to have lowered the temperature of their coffee. Later.... Dan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
From: dmccarty_at_us.ibm.com To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Date sent: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 12:35:15 -0500 Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Costco selling kayaks/Coffee/Litigation > > Sorry Jack but I have to speak up about the McD's comment especially since > I see it referenced frequently in discussions about excessive litigation. > Thanks, Dan --- perfectly valid points, I guess. Maybe it was a bad example. But here's another quote from the fine print on the inside page of Canoe and Kayak. "... Many of the activities depicted in <Canoe and Kayak> carry a risk of personal injury or death. Canoeing, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking and other outdoor activities are inherently dangerous. The owners, management and staff of <Canoe and Kayak> recommend that you not participate in these activities without first seeking qualified instruction and/or guidance, understanding the risks involved, and personally assuming all responsibility for those risks." Good words, good sentiments, but even the magazines have to protect themselves! Jack Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:57 PDT