Stella Liebeck’s coffee burn case has been the butt of jokes for decades, but the real story? It’s anything but a punchline.

Back in 1992, 79-year-old Stella spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee in her lap. Sounds minor, right? Except the coffee was served at a ridiculous 180 to 190°F and caused third-degree burns that left her needing skin grafts and two years of treatment. She asked McDonald’s for $20,000 to cover her medical bills. They said no.

Turns out, they knew their coffee was dangerously hot but kept it that way so it wouldn’t go cold on commuters. The jury wasn’t having it and handed over $2.7 million in punitive damages, plus $160,000 for her medical costs.

The case ended up changing the way the whole industry handles hot drinks, from temperature controls to those dramatic “CAUTION: HOT” warnings on every takeaway cup. Not so funny now, is it?

Stick the kettle on, just not that hot, and get ready for a fiery conversation that still burns today.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.