Consumer Responsibility
This argument claimed Stella Liebeck should have been more careful while handling hot coffee.
What is personal responsibility?
This type of damages compensates a consumer for medical bills and suffering.
What are compensatory damages?
This Federal agency works to prevent deceptive advertising and protect consumers from unfair business practices.
What is the Federal Trade Commission?
This idea asks whether businesses should be guided by more responsibility to consumers, not just with the law allows.
What is going beyond Legal compliance?
This everyday action could have reduced the risk of severe burns when handling a hot beverage in a parked car.
What is placing the cup on a stable surface before removing the lid?
McDonald's decision to serve coffee at 180-190° F reflected its business priority: maintaining product consistency and taste over reducing burn risks.
What is prioritizing product quality and brand standards over safety adjustments?
Consumers have a right to be protected from products that are this.
What is unreasonably dangerous?
Critics of the lawsuit argue the consumer should accept this when purchasing hot items.
What is personal responsibility for obvious risks?
Critics argued the lawsuit showed consumers failing to do this instead of blaming businesses.
What is take responsibility for their own actions?
This ethical business responsibility requires companies to consider foreseeable misuse of their products, not just intended use.
What is designing products with consumer safety in mind?
This occurs when a company makes false or misleading claims about a product safety, quality, or benefits.
What is deceptive advertising?
This type of damages is intended to punish a company and discourage similar behavior, not just compensate the injured consumer.
What is punitive damages?
In the case, the debate centered on whether a typical buyer should anticipate coffee being hot enough to cause third degree burns.
What is the "reasonable consumer" standard
Evident showed McDonald's had received 700 prior complaints about burn injuries, raising questions about this corporate responsibility.
What is the duty to respond to known safety risks?
Clear warnings about product temperature, risks, or proper use are examples of this business obligation to consumers.
What is proper labelling and disclosure?
This ethical framework evaluates business decisions by weighing overall cost and benefits to society, including consumer safety risks.
What is utilitarianism?
This legal concept reduces damages when the injured party is partly at fault.
What is comparative negligence?
This area of law governs when companies are responsible for injuries caused by their products.
What is product liability law?
This consumer protection principle requires businesses to anticipate foreseeable misuse of their products.
What is the duty of care?
This broader ethical tension exists between protecting consumers and maintaining this economic principle.
What is free enterprise (or business freedom)?