Thomas Jefferson once said that coffee was "the favorite drink of the civilized world," but a cup of joe can sometimes come with a hefty price tag.
More Americans drink coffee each day than any other beverage, including water, according to the American Coffee Association’s “Atlas of American Coffee" and with all that java floating around there's bound to be some blowback.
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This was the case with American Airlines (AAL) -), which has been named in a coffee-related lawsuit.
Passenger George Latorre said he was on a flight from Vietnam to NYC earlier this month when he asked for a cup of coffee, TMZ reported.
According to the lawsuit, the flight attendant was negligent by spilling what he said was "scalding coffee" on his left arm.
He suffered second-degree burns to his upper left arm, as well as blistering, peeling and bleeding. His tattoo was also damaged, he said.
The lawsuit claims Latorre's "cosmetic deformity and scarring" may be permanent, and he's still suffering “extreme pain and suffering, emotional harm, mental anguish and distress.”
American Airlines said in an email message that it does not comment on pending legal matters.
An earlier case
If you feel like you've heard this story before--or one very much like it--well, you have.
McDonald's (MCD) -) got in legal hot water back in 1994 when Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns after she accidentally spilled coffee in her lap after purchasing it from a McDonald's restaurant.
She was hospitalized for eight days while undergoing skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment.
A jury found that McDonald's was 80% responsible for the incident and awarded Liebeck a net $160,000 in compensatory damages to cover medical expenses, and $2.7 million in punitive damages, the equivalent of two days of McDonald's coffee sales.
The case became a hot button issue with calls for tort reform, provided fodder for many comedians, and even inspired a Seinfeld episode. It was also the subject of an HBO documentary in 2011 called "Hot Coffee."
The story was sometimes distilled to just a case about a woman who made $2.7 million by spilling coffee on herself, according to the American Tort Museum.
“Consumer advocates believe the distorted narrative picked up speed because business interests and some lawmakers used it as a way to create a public belief that frivolous lawsuits were common and that jury verdicts were running amok, all in an effort to advance a tort reform agenda that limits consumers’ ability to hold wrongdoers accountable,” the museum said on its website.
Other food-related lawsuits
This was not McDonald's only hot coffee incident.
Last month, Mable Childress, 85, filed a lawsuit against McDonald's for serving a “scalding” cup of coffee with an improperly attached lid, which allegedly resulted in the coffee pouring out on Childress’ body.
"My restaurants have strict food safety protocols in place, including training crew to ensure lids on hot beverages are secure," McDonald's owner/operator Peter Ou said in a statement to NPR.
"We take every customer complaint seriously — and when Ms. Childress reported her experience to us later that day, our employees and management team spoke to her within a few minutes and offered assistance."
And it's not just coffee sparking lawsuits.
In July, a Florida jury ruled that $800,000 in damages should be awarded to the family of a girl who said hot chicken nuggets from a local McDonald's franchise left her severely burned.
Lawyers for the family of Olivia Caraballo, who was 4 when she was burned in 2019, were seeking $15 million in damages, the Associated Press reported.
McDonald’s lawyers argued that the child’s discomfort ended when the wound healed, which they said took about three weeks.
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