Washington Injury Lawyer Blog

Ok, I do roll my eyes whenever anyone starts talking about "The McDonald's Case". So far, no one has ever come close to describing the real facts. I hope the following article will help to set the case straight.

There is a lot of hype about the McDonalds' scalding coffee case. No
one is in favor of frivolous cases of outlandish results; however, it is
important to understand some points that were not reported in most of
the stories about the case. McDonalds coffee was not only hot, it was
scalding -- capable of almost instantaneous destruction of skin, flesh
and muscle. Here's the whole story.

Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of
her grandson's car when she was severely burned by McDonalds' coffee in
February 1992. Liebeck, 79 at the time, ordered coffee that was served
in a Styrofoam cup at the drive-through window of a local McDonalds.

After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward and
stopped momentarily so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her
coffee. (Critics of civil justice, who have pounced on this case, often
charge that Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in
motion when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.) Liebeck placed
the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from
the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled
into her lap.

The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next
to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full
thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body,
including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin
areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she
underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement
treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonalds
refused.

Here's an interesting AP story which I think really shows what motivates Allstate Insurance:

NEW YORK (AP) — Allstate Corp. CEO Thomas J. Wilson received total compensation valued at $10.4 million in 2009, up about 30% from a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

The pay raise for Thomas Wilson came as the property and casualty insurer stanched steep investment losses to help post a profit for the full year. Wilson had earned $7 million in the previous year, according to an Associated Press analysis of a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 2009, Wilson earned a base salary of $1.1 million, which was an increase of 6 percent. His performance-based compensation was $1.7 million, more than double the $736,261 he got in 2008.

Wilson also got stock and options worth $6.5 million when they were granted, compared with $5.2 million in 2008.

His other perks and compensation totaled $68,072 and consisted of $23,154 for personal use of a company plane and $9,800 in matching contributions to a retirement plan. The remaining $35,118 was for miscellaneous items including life insurance premiums, cell phones, tax preparation, financial planning, security, ground transportation and supplemental long-term disability coverage.

For 2009, Allstate said better risk management in its investment portfolio helped it earn $854 million, or $1.58 per share, compared with a net loss of $1.68 billion, or $3.06 per share, in 2008.

In the final quarter of 2009 alone, Allstate posted a profit of $518 million, or 96 cents per share, a great improvement over its a loss of $1.13 billion, or $2.10 per share, in the period a year earlier.

Allstate's operating income, which excludes investment gains and losses, rose 14 percent to $592 million, or $1.09 per share, versus a profit of $518 million, or 96 cents per share, a year ago.