PaTLA: fostering public awareness and understanding of the role of the trial lawyer in the administration of justice.

Shopping Cart

Home News & Case Notes 10-yr. anniversary of McDonald’s coffee-spill case: Do you remember more than just the headlines? (8/18/2004) - An editorial in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer notes the ten-year anniversary of a New Mexico jury’s verdict in the McDonald’s coffee spill case. The case involved 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, who was served a scalding cup of coffee that spilled on her--badly burning her skin and requiring a seven-day hospital stay and painful skin grafts. The case made national headlines and “tort reformers” made fun of Liebeck and hyped the case to promote their ends. According to the editorial, the facts of the case were never widely known. Click here for the editorial Note: requires free registration with news site