Family sues Denny's Restaurant and wins $500k

[Rakehellion]

I agree with this! All persons under the age of 18, IMO. And all under 25 on a case by case basis!

Ban everyone under the age of 35 from all stores and have a nationwide curfew for anyone under 20.

 

[massmedia]

A lot of people who clearly aren't parents in this thread and some parents who think they are so perfect at 100% ultra perfect at prediction the actions of every human in their vicinity that they will never miss anything.

The former don't have a clue and the latter are simply lost in a self delusion that is likely to lead to tragedy

 

[MustISO]

I really need to start drinking more coffee, I could use some extra spending money.

 

[alkemyst]

You also weren't rushed to the hospital with second or third degree burns.

I had definitely 2nd degree burns.

 

[alkemyst]

Wonder what the breakdown on culpability in this suit was? Bet the award was adjusted downward to reflect the parent's fault in the matter.

I don't get how this even got rewarded, other than the mentality so many here feel that the rich/corporations should pay for other's mistakes.

The waitress may never had a child, yet alone a baby around them ever.

The parents should have known to tell the waitress when the cup was placed down to not do so, they were probably busy with their phones and not paying attention.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I really need to start drinking more coffee, I could use some extra spending money.

If you start drinking more coffee I may have to sue you to stop drinking more coffee.

 

[Exterous]

some parents who think they are so perfect at 100% ultra perfect at prediction the actions of every human in their vicinity that they will never miss anything.

So parents can't be expected to be perfect yet we expect servers at Denny's to be? There are details we don't have that may shed light one way or the other but as a general rule society should tend towards parents taking the responsibility role over a waitress at Denny's

 

[alkemyst]

So parents can't be expected to be perfect yet we expect servers at Denny's to be? There are details we don't have that may shed light one way or the other but as a general rule society should tend towards parents taking the responsibility role over a waitress at Denny's

This is exactly the mindset our society has at times which is very sad. It's all about getting paid.

 

[highland145]

This is exactly the mindset our society has at times which is very sad. It's all about getting paid.

QFT

They should lose the kid because they took it to Lenny's.

 

[FelixDeCat]

This is exactly the mindset our society has at times which is very sad. It's all about getting paid.

What are you critical of? I thought that was what you were all about - getting paid. I also think you are not sad about it at all.

QFT

They should lose the kid because they took it to Lenny's.

 

[slag]

Crock of shit. Parents are the ones to blame for negligence here. When our daughter was that young and we went out for breakfast, we made sure where our coffees and silverware were at all times (hint: not in her reach). Toddlers will grab anything they can get their hands on.

Once.. maybe twice.. until they learn not to do that because it causes pain.

 

[Mai72]

One of the reasons I liked living in Thailand is lawsuits just don't happen there. If you get into trouble or get injured you can only blame yourself. The junta would throw your ass in jail if you complained too loudly. You don't want to venture into a Thai jail. Foreigners have hung themselves in jail because the conditions are deplorable.

 

[oynaz]

Third, invoking the McDonalds case is beyond stupid, as the facts were pretty fucking clear. McDonalds heated it's coffee to unsafe levels in order to avoid purchasing higher qualify coffee

Heated their coffee to unsafe levels? So, coffee from my coffee machine back home is at a completely safe temperature level?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Heated their coffee to unsafe levels? So, coffee from my coffee machine back home is at a completely safe temperature level?

More safe than McDonalds, whose coffee was so hot, it caused large amounts of 3rd degree burns in under 5 seconds.

This was after they were warned prior several times that their coffee was too hot and was unsafe.

 

[Brainonska511]

If this was so "frivolous", it would have been thrown out. Unfortunately, we don't really know the full facts of this case, but that won't stop ATOT from making wild assumptions about the parents.

One of the reasons I liked living in Thailand is lawsuits just don't happen there. If you get into trouble or get injured you can only blame yourself. The junta would throw your ass in jail if you complained too loudly. You don't want to venture into a Thai jail. Foreigners have hung themselves in jail because the conditions are deplorable.

Living in a place with no rights sounds like lots of fun. The government and shitty groups of people can simply walk all over you with no recourse.

Heated their coffee to unsafe levels? So, coffee from my coffee machine back home is at a completely safe temperature level?

Your coffee machine at home likely doesn't heat the water to 180-190F, which will cause third degree burns in seconds.

More safe than McDonalds, whose coffee was so hot, it caused large amounts of 3rd degree burns in under 5 seconds.

This was after they were warned prior several times that their coffee was too hot and was unsafe.

And besides the fact that they knew there was a problem, they had a history of settling previous cases where people were severely burned from their coffee. They were even offered the opportunity at first to settle for just her medical expenses, but they thumbed their nose at the woman, so she filed her lawsuit.

 

[Exterous]

If this was so "frivolous", it would have been thrown out.

Blatantly obvious ones yes but that doesn't mean there is merit to their case. Sometimes you don't even need to base your case on facts for it to be allowed to go forward...

 

[OutHouse]

The little girl ended up suffering from first- and second-degree burns on her neck, abdomen, and chest.

The family argued that the "waitress was negligent in placing the coffee within the infant's reach" and provided evidence that the burns will require a "lifetime medical care at a cost of more than $340,000."

why would 1st and second degree burns require a lifetime of medical care? 3rd and 4th degree burns i can uderstand but not burns that no different than a bad sunburn.

 

[highland145]

why would 1st and second degree burns require a lifetime of medical care? 3rd and 4th degree burns i can uderstand but not burns that no different than a bad sunburn.

Because deep pockets and sympathetic jury.

 

[OutHouse]

Heated their coffee to unsafe levels? So, coffee from my coffee machine back home is at a completely safe temperature level?

i bet its not 180 to 190 degrees.

 

[OutHouse]

One of the reasons I liked living in Thailand is lawsuits just don't happen there. If you get into trouble or get injured you can only blame yourself. The junta would throw your ass in jail if you complained too loudly. You don't want to venture into a Thai jail. Foreigners have hung themselves in jail because the conditions are deplorable.

so you get hurt through the negligence of somebody that requires medical care that you have to pay for, you bitch about it and you get thrown in jail??

you dont see a problem with that?

 

[Wuzup101]

i bet its not 180 to 190 degrees.

Coffee is best brewed at 195-205. I use 200 for my french press from an electronic tea pot. It's still damn close to that temperature when it's done brewing (if I've remembered to preheat the metal insulated french press).

I'm not a shitty home coffee machine expert, but I would venture to guess that most, if not all, of them heat water in excess of 190 (probably close to 200). As for the final temp of the brew (right when it's done), again I would doubt it's anywhere below 180 (probably much closer to the brew temp).

 

[alkemyst]

What are you critical of? I thought that was what you were all about - getting paid. I also think you are not sad about it at all.

It was the parent's responsibility in this case, the server did not pour this on the child. After they left the cup on the table the baby got to it.

Our server's should not be our parents.

I am sad about all the lawsuits that happen for stupid crap and exaggerated to only be compensated for desire and not true loss.

It's also sad this baby was burned, however; life can be sad and that doesn't mean someone pays us for it.

 

[alkemyst]

Coffee is best brewed at 195-205. I use 200 for my french press from an electronic tea pot. It's still damn close to that temperature when it's done brewing (if I've remembered to preheat the metal insulated french press).

I'm not a shitty home coffee machine expert, but I would venture to guess that most, if not all, of them heat water in excess of 190 (probably close to 200). As for the final temp of the brew (right when it's done), again I would doubt it's anywhere below 180 (probably much closer to the brew temp).

The main confusion is brew temps vs serving temps. There is nothing safe about SERVING coffee at 205 degrees.

The normal range for brewing is 195-205, they also recommend you let the coffee sit until it's reached 185-190ish BEFORE serving and to keep it re-heated no longer than 15 minutes for best taste.

Most restaurants need to push this window and shoot for GOOD/ACCEPTABLE taste...still after 30-60mins coffee should be dumped and re-brewed.

Now a second problem restaurants encounter is with everyone and their mobile devices, serving times are longer and more food gets sent back for being cold not because it was served cold, but because someone dicked around on-line for 15 minutes prior to eating/drinking.

As a result, some restaurants have increased the heating temps for stand-by coffee to compensate for server down time serving the same cup over and over again.

 

[mmntech]

I have to side with the restaurant and waitress in this case. Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have place the coffee so close to the kid, but there's now way you can prove malicious intent or negligence. Parents should have been watching their child.

If Denny's is smart, they'll ban young children from their restaurants in the future. Will deal a short term PR hit but will save them in the future. You've really got to cover your ass for every possible situation in retail. People wonder why stores have so many stupid rules. This is why.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Take the baby away from the parents for neglect and we can call it even.

x2

Most other countries would've laughed in parents face......and their justice system is not FUBAR to allow this kind of crap.