SWA and SWA FA sued over spilled hot tea

[Stomp16]

There is not a tray table or fold-down on Southwest in the front seats. Why someone would order hot teat and have to hold it is beyond me. Sounds like she found a weakness and exploited it to her advantage in the form of monetary compensation.

 

[Stomp16]

This is absolutely awesome. Take them for everything you can, lady!

But aside from my personal hatred for our evil Tex-ass overlords, it sounds like a reasonable suit to me. Hot tea shouldn't cause second degree burns through clothing.

So should it be re-named lukewarm tea with a tone down of the temperature?

 

[MQAAord]

I could see a drink served directly from a home coffeemaker causing burns through clothing. Seriously! It's damn hot!

I'm curious if the temp of the drink served on the plane was any hotter than any hot drink she'd get anywhere else.

 

[SteveCostello]

Not trying to say anything about this Southwest case, but for those that think the McDonald's burn case was frivolous, do a Google image search for "Stella Liebeck vs Mcdonalds - Hot Coffee Documentary" and click on the second link. It has some pretty graphic pictures of the defendant's injuries. Coffee shouldn't do that.

I make a batch of french press coffee every morning, starting with boiling 32 oz. of water on my stove. I bring it to a complete boil, and once it boils, turn off the heat to let it cool slightly (being the coffee snob I am), and while it cools about 10 degrees, I grind the beans.

If I somehow manage to spill that tea pot of near boiling water all over myself, it's gonna leave a nasty, nasty burn for sure. Or should I pour the near boiling water into the carafe, then manage to dump the carafe all over myself - also going to be a Bad Thing. So, should I sue Whirlpool (manufacturer of the stove), Home Depot (retailer of the stove), Oxo (manufacturer of the teapot), Bodum (manufacturer of the press pot), and Target (retailer of the teapot and press pot)? I probably need to include LacLede Gas, the provider of the natural gas that made the water so hot, as well. All for my own clumsiness.

There needs to be some personal accountability here. If you get handed a scalding hot cup of water, and can see that you are about to embark on multi-step mission to get the tea bag into the water, you should probably say, "Hold on, lemme get ready for this." Simply because there is personal injury and severe scarring does not mean there should be a lawsuit.

 

[rframe]

And there's the end of hot liquids served on 121.

Why do they even serve drinks on airlines anyway? I've always thought it was a little stupid. Where else in society do you have people running around asking you for drink orders just because you happen to be sitting down for an hour or two? But, I guess if 121 stopped drink service it'd destroy the Giner Ale industry.

 

[Cory Trevor]

Because, you know, who knew that "hot tea" was, I dunno....HOT???

I had to do a presentation in an aviation law class almost identical to this, I believe it was in the 70s or 80s in a TWA airplane. Basically there is no real definition as to what "hot" is especially legally speaking.

 

[Stomp16]

I'm curious if the temp of the drink served on the plane was any hotter than any hot drink she'd get anywhere else.

Does it matter though? If I order a hot drink, I naturally assume it will be to the point of boiling.

 

[caliginousface]

Why do they even serve drinks on airlines anyway? I've always thought it was a little stupid. Where else in society do you have people running around asking you for drink orders just because you happen to be sitting down for an hour or two? But, I guess if 121 stopped drink service it'd destroy the Giner Ale industry.

Meh. I wouldn't mind, I don't usually get drinks, too much waste.

And as far as ginger ale is concerned, I'm really trying to pioneer Jack and Ginger in the event that all drink service is stopped, in order to preserve the demand and production of ginger ale.

 

[MQAAord]

Does it matter though? If I order a hot drink, I naturally assume it will be to the point of boiling.

Exactly!

For the matter of the lawsuit, if the drink was no hotter than something you'd make at home or be served in any restaurant then I think the suit loses a great deal of any credibility that it ever had. (And I don't think it has a lot to begin with.)

 

[jskibo]

Credible or not, it will never see a jury.

They will settle to keep the litigation costs low......

 

[Matt13C]

But aside from my personal hatred for our evil Tex-ass overlords, it sounds like a reasonable suit to me. Hot tea shouldn't cause second degree burns through clothing.

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic, but given the lack of a tag, I assume no.

With that, or without that really, How is this a defensible suit? At what point do we as humans with the power of cognitive reasoning take on responsibility for our own decisions?

This woman, clearly a tea drinker, understands tea, when ordered hot, typically comes in a temperature that is near boiling. She didn't order iced tea, she ordered a hot tea. I don't care if there is a legal definition of what HOT is, IT'S &$(@*&^ HOT!

If you as a human with a functioning brain, order hot tea on a plane where the threat of turbulence or a simple turn may cause the beverage to spill, you accept the possibility that it may in fact spill on you. Don't want "hot" tea because you are afraid of getting burned, then ask for ice to be placed in it prior to hand off.

We've all been there, spilled coffee in our laps while driving, it's hot, it hurts. We didn't sue the city because there was a pot hole, or the dunkin donuts.

People like this suck and are ruining our society. Bunch of cry babies always looking for someone to blame for everything. Where is the roll down window when you need it.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic, but given the lack of a tag, I assume no.

Nope, no sarcasm.

With that, or without that really, How is this a defensible suit?

Everyone always says the same thing about the famous McDonalds coffee lawsuit, but then when they actually read it, their eyes are opened. It isn't always as simple as it seems at first glance.

We've all been there, spilled coffee in our laps while driving, it's hot, it hurts.

Yes, it does hurt, but it doesn't cause second degree burns and permanent scarring, which is what is being alleged in this suit. If that is indeed true, then this should at least be looked into. If SWA is brewing their water so blasted hot that it will cause that degree of damage to skin through clothing in an environment where spilling is likely due to frequent turbulence, then there's good reason for this to be brought to light. Now, $800,000 in damages? Probably not, but it won't be settled for anything close to that.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

But aside from my personal hatred for our evil Tex-ass overlords,

With a disclaimer like that...

it sounds like a reasonable suit to me. Hot tea shouldn't cause second degree burns through clothing.

On the contrary, sir, it absolutely should, or it isn't properly brewed.

 

[SteveCostello]

Indeed. As I mentioned above, a proper tea is served with water between 176 degrees and boiling. Anyone who drinks hot tea should definitely be aware of the fact that they are initially dealing with near boiling water.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Indeed. As I mentioned above, a proper tea is served with water between 176 degrees and boiling. Anyone who drinks hot tea should definitely be aware of the fact that they are initially dealing with near boiling water.

It's one of the reasons that I never, ever get (hot) tea when I'm up front. It's either:
(1) Not brewed correctly and therefore disgusting, or
(2) If it is brewed correctly, then it's too damn hot to be safely had on the flight deck unless it's sat out and cooled down 50+ degrees fahrenheit.

(that, and it's summertime, in Palm Springs, with tiny packs, so being warm is the problem, not being cold)

 

[SteveCostello]

It's one of the reasons that I never, ever get (hot) tea when I'm up front. It's either:
(1) Not brewed correctly and therefore disgusting, or
(2) If it is brewed correctly, then it's too damn hot to be safely had on the flight deck unless it's sat out and cooled down 50+ degrees fahrenheit.

(that, and it's summertime, in Palm Springs, with tiny packs, so being warm is the problem, not being cold)

This is going to be a really stupid question... do most transport category aircraft (or even bizjets, for that matter) have cupholders up front? I have around 10 hours in a 737 Level D sim (thanks to my stint as a network admin/web designer for FSI many moons ago at ERAU), but can't remember seeing anything up there. Because... I may need to rethink my career change possibilities if I can't have my coffee up there.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

This is going to be a really stupid question... do most transport category aircraft (or even bizjets, for that matter) have cupholders up front? I have around 10 hours in a 737 Level D sim (thanks to my stint as a network admin/web designer for FSI many moons ago at ERAU), but can't remember seeing anything up there. Because... I may need to rethink my career change possibilities if I can't have my coffee up there.

The ERJ had great cup holders and most of the bigger machines that I've ridden up front in during my commutes are pretty well equipped cup holder wise for the guys flying. Even jumpseaters on the 767 and 777 have them.

The Brasilia has really crappy cup holders that I don't ever use, but as long as there isn't a flight deck jumpseat occupant, the space between the jumpseat and the flight deck step itself actually forms a good cup holder, along with a good holder for all sorts of other stuff. The Bro is distinctly short on storage up front. In fact, it's distinctly short on space up front, but I'm sufficiently tall that most airplanes aren't hugely comfortable anyway.

(I'm pretty sure that somewhere in my employer's ops manual it states all liquids on the flight deck must be in lidded containers, too, but don't quote me on that. It's merely

 

[SeanD]

Does SWA's first row not have the fold-out traytables built into the armrests? I've never flown SWA so I don't know.. but other than Eagle's older ATRs (built in the mid 80s) I've never seen a front seat row without fold-out traytables.

And yes, when you order hot tea... it's probably going to be, oh, I dunno, maybe HOT!!!

The one I flew on had them.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Indeed. As I mentioned above, a proper tea is served with water between 176 degrees and boiling. Anyone who drinks hot tea should definitely be aware of the fact that they are initially dealing with near boiling water.

No, proper tea is brewed at those temperatures, not served at those temperatures. Big difference.

 

[SteveCostello]

No, proper tea is brewed at those temperatures, not served at those temperatures. Big difference.

I guess that is the divide, then, because apparently SWA doesn't actually brew the tea. They serve you water hot enough to brew it yourself, along with a tea bag and all the rest of the stuff you might need (sugar, etc.).