bl1y

A Virginia man is suing McDonald’s after suffering burns from an exploding chicken sandwich.  Unfortunately (for us, not for him) the story isn’t nearly as dramatic as it sounds.  The man bit into a freshly cooked chicken sandwich and hot grease burst out onto his face, burning his lips and face.  He claims that the next morning his lips were blistered and bleeding.

Here’s what might kill his case: he didn’t see a doctor until several months after the incident.  So, it’s unlikely he has a solid evidence of any harm suffered.

This story probably reminds you of the woman who sued Micky D’s for $3 million in 1994 after being burned by coffee she bought at the drive through and then spilled on herself.  (She settled the case for an unspecified smaller amount.)  But, there are some big differences.

First, the extent of the harm.  Liebeck, the coffee lady, was taken to the hospital and it was recorded that she was burned on 16% of her body, with third degree burns on 6%.  The chicken guy appears to have much less severe injuries.

But the bigger difference is going to come in showing negligence.  In the coffee lady case, McDonald’s franchises were instructed to serve coffee at temperatures of 180-190F.  A liquid at that temperature can cause burns severe enough to require a skin graft in just 12 seconds.  That might seem like a long time to respond to spilling coffee, but remember this is coffee coming from the drive through.  You’re buckled into your seat and driving.  Lowering the temperature to 160F almost doubles the time a person has to respond to a spill.

The real kicker in the McDonald’s case though was that McDonald’s knew its coffee was dangerous.  From 1982 to 1992, McDonald’s had received over 700 complaints of burns from coffee, and had settled some claims for over $500,000.  They knew the coffee was dangerously hot and had an easy means of making it safe.

I’ve had several chicken sandwiches explode with hot grease (from Wendy’s, not the D’s).  One way or another, when the chicken is submerged in oil, sometimes the oil collects in a pocket within the chicken.  The chicken insulates the oil, so it keeps its temperature, until the pressure of biting down forces it out.  Not really an explosion, but close enough.  I’ve never been injured by it though, and I’m guessing this guy just got an extremely explosive chicken.

I think when it comes to finding negligence, it’s going to be hard to prove that there was a cost effective way McDonald’s could have eliminated the risk of exploding grease, and that’s what’s going to matter if this goes to trial, which it won’t, because nothing ever does.  How else do you fry chicken except to submerge it in hot grease?

| | | | | | Tags: Coffee, Exploding Chicken, Law Suit, McDonald's

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 9:09 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.