Question.1211 - There are several observers who feel the compensation for personal injury and medical malpractice cases create an atmosphere of "lawsuit lotteries". With that in mind, please review the documentary, "Hot Coffee". It is available on line free on several sites. Please look at the first section about the McDonald's case. Do you agree with the jury? Why or why not? What were your impressions about the representative for McDonald's? Please explain. What, if any, changes would you recommend for tort liability?
Answer Below:
1) Do you agree with the jury? Why or why not? Considering the documentary "Hot Coffee" in terms of the healthcare law and ethics, Stella Liebeck, against McDonald's, the jury found McDonald's 80% responsible for the incident while Stella was held 20% responsible for spilling coffee on herself. Although one could agree with the jury or no, depends entirely on the ethical values of the person present during the time incident had occured, becuase according to the Stella Lieback's attorney (Morgan) the coffee sold by McDonalds is at an average of around 190 Deg Fahrenheit, this has the potential heat to cause third-degree burns with backing evidence from the chairman of the department of Mechnical and Bio-Mechanical Engineering at the university of Texas, vouching that any product sold at that risky temperature which has the scope to inflict harm is unacceptable which was further reinforced my cheif editor of Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation (a scholarly publication); with these and several other facts in favor of Stella the jury's decision seems valid (given her age and vulnerable skin), but moreover the way McDonald hanlded the case was one of the primary reasons for the compensation, if they had been accountable considering the age, burn rate and the period in which she was hospitalized - using the legal mediation or negotiation appraoch, the compensation priced might have been quite less ("McDonalds Hot Coffee Case - Read the Facts NOT the Fiction",?n.d.).? 2. What were your impressions about the representative for McDonald's? Please explain. McDonald's took a stance minimizing the severity of the incident and attributing the blame to the consumer. The representative's perspective seemed to emphasize that the responsibility lies with the person who spilled the coffee rather than acknowledging any potential fault on McDonald's part; this could come from the perspective of the corporation or trying to have a balanced stance since the coffee being dynamically sold across the states with varied desires for temperatures wherein they could be forced to direct their product line up to meet the customer demand when addressing a larger crowd, this case requires ethical dynamics to be assessed too. Despite giving emphasis only on Stella's injury and giving her only 20% responsibility, the case needs to be viewed including several other factors like the caregivers buying them coffee, the temperature of coffee when handheld as a sign or indication in terms of how hot it was indicating one to be careful while opening it.? 3. What changes would you recommend for tort liability? One might consider advocating for improvements in tort liability, emphasizing corporate responsibility wherein they can consider extra care through their front-end employees based on age demography, and ensuring that businesses take reasonable precautions to protect consumers at any cost. Additionally, revisiting punitive damages and addressing issues related to public perception of lawsuits, such as in this scenario, could be part of the discussion. Rather than burdening the judiciary, they can approach it through negotiation first with a certain attorney. The goal should be a balanced approach that considers both consumer rights and responsible business practices. References? Hot Coffee. (2011).?Tubi | Hot Coffee. Retrieved January 24, 2024, from https://tubitv.com/movies/310498/hot-coffee. Center for Justice & Democracy, New York City. (n.d.).?McDonalds Hot Coffee Case - Read the Facts NOT the Fiction. McDonalds Coffee Case Facts. https://www.ttla.com/?pg=McDonaldsCoffeeCaseFacts#:~:text=The%20jury%20awarded%20Liebeck%20%24200%2C000,of%20%241.3%20million%20a%20day.)More Articles From Medicine
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