Stella Liebeck was 79 years old at the time of the incident, and the settlement helped her pay for a live-in nurse as she was partially disabled for two full years after being so badly burned she went into shock. She passed away in 2004 with little to no quality of life per her own daughter. She originally sought $20,000 dollars to cover her eight day hospital stay (including skin graphs) and compensation for her daughter's lost wages after she spent three weeks providing round-the-clock care.
Incidently, liquids served at 190 degrees is capable of causing third degree burns--which cause severe, permanent damage all the way to the muscle layer--within 3 seconds of contact with human skin. If you have a strong stomach, you can even find photographic evidence of her wounds with a quick google search. This didn't stop almost every major news outlet perpetuating MacDonald's coordinated smear campaign against her. MacDonalds' justification for this was basically, well, all fast food is hot and we have better things to worry about. Literally. This deliberately manufactured overly litigious gold digger stereotype is still remembered today via the Stella Awards, which mocks all the "frivolous" lawsuits against your favorite brands. Named after a little old lady who was permanently disfigured and handicapped from a ridiculously dangerous product.
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