Posted On: July 8, 2004, 2:15 pm CDT

Posted By: Paula

The infamous "McDonalds Hot Coffee" case is an excellent example here, and I'm glad it was raised. The facts of the case reveal that McDondalds was aware that the excessively high temperatures at which it kept its coffee were dangerous, yet chose not to lower them... that is, until the courts held them accountable. Please review the facts here:

http://tinyurl.com/2wz8 (a nice, succinct overview with annotations)

Working in the insurance industry, I am continually presented with an Industry vs Trial Lawyers chasm that takes individual research to bridge. There are certainly trial lawyers who are trying to milk the system for all it's worth, but it's a mistake to lump them all into that category. I agree with the article's suggestion that perhaps once companies realize they can't rely on insurance to cover all their liabilities, they'll take more responsibility for making reasonable choices. That would be a result we all would benefit from, insurance companies included.