The ghost of the infamous McDonald's scorching-coffee
case is haunting the Clark County District Court, this time taking the shape of Del Taco's orange, gelatinous
nacho cheese. Different substance, same result: severe burns and litigation.
Las Vegans Robert and Sharon Stone filed a lawsuit last week, alleging that Del Taco employees gave no warning
that their nacho cheese was hot enough to cause third-degree burns. Sharon had purchased nachos at the
restaurant's drive-through window for her 4-year-old daughter, Brianna. Stone opened the small plastic cup in
which the restaurant serves nacho cheese, and handed the chips and cheese to her daughter, according to Brent
Vogel, the couple's attorney. The cheese spilled onto the daughter's leg, allegedly causing third-degree burns
from her vagina to her knee.
Del Taco isn't commenting on the case because it's in litigation, but a spokeswoman said the Food and Drug
Administration requires that restaurants heat cheese to 140 degrees. She said she wasn't familiar with any past
cases of customers being burned by cheese.
But the FDA's required temperature could be hot enough to cause third-degree burns, according to Gio Santovito,
the education and prevention coordinator for University Medical Center's Lions Burn Care Center. "The extent
of the injury is going to be temperature (multiplied by) the time of exposure," says Santovito. Water, at a
temperature of 140 degrees, can cause third-degree burns if it's in contact with the skin for three seconds.
"The McDonald's case was a beacon for all foolishness," says Victor Schwarz, who is the general counsel
to a Washington, D.C., group that speaks out against lawsuit abuse, called Americans for Tort Reform. The
fast-food lawsuit phenomenon started in 1994 with Stella Liebeck, whose coffee spillage resulted in third-degree
burns in her lap and a jury's award of $2.9 million (which was later reduced to an undisclosed amount). Ever
since, lawsuits have been filed almost as quickly as the McEmpire was built.
A brief sampling from the past few years:
• 35 people in England sued McDonald's for serving scalding coffee and hot tea.
• Vegetarians and religious groups sued McDonald's for more than $10 million for not disclosing the beef
flavoring in their french fries.
• An Arkansas woman found a fly in her coffee, and sued McDonald's for more than $75,000.
• A Nova Scotia woman sued McDonald's for more than $50,000 after spilling hot chocolate on her chest, which
resulted in third-degree burns.
• A highway patrol trooper in North Carolina sued Taco Bell for $20,000 after an employee says he spat into the
trooper's nachos.
• A Tennessee woman sued McDonald's for $110,000, claiming a hot pickle burned her chin. He husband sought
$15,000, claiming he lost the "services and consortium" of his wife.
• An Illinois woman sued McDonald's, Wal-Mart, a paper-cup maker and her own mother for a total of $450,000 over
hot coffee that she claims permanently scarred her.
• There's talk of filing a class-action lawsuit against the fast-food industry for contributing to obesity.
. . . .
While such cases may line the pockets
of the plaintiffs, often settling out of court to avoid costly legal fees, it's the consumer who's paying the
price, says
Andy Kotner, president of San Diego County's Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. (Emphasis Added)
"Even if they win, we all pay for it and we all lose," she says. "We all pay in terms of
higher-priced consumer products, services, whatever. ... It's like a hidden lawsuit tax."
Kotner estimates that every person in the United States pays an additional $1,200 per year for what she refers to
as "liability costs," or costs added onto products to make up for the money spent on lawsuits. (She
calculated that number by dividing the number of people in the U.S. by the total amount paid out in judgment
awards and settlements.)
Unless people begin accepting accountability, she says, then we may as well get used to the idea of cold coffee
and cold hamburgers--an unappetizing prospect, at best.
"There are risks in every aspect of society. There's a risk when you walk down the street and drive your car.
And there are risks when you're eating," she says. "Maybe people should just be more careful when
they're eating." |
