This happened to my son in the Telford Town Centre restuarant 7 years ago but all we got in apology was a £10 voucher, such an insult. We were offered the chance to go to court with 40 other cases but were asked for £500 each as an insurance incase we lost!

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It’s a nasty accident, but at the risk of stating the obvious and repeating what Simon said above… tea is made with boiling water.

As for the comment made by the father about a small child… small children shouldn’t drink hot tea and adults should be careful not to drink hot tea around children, in case it spills. Common sense.

I don’t understand what McDonald’s are expected to do about it, but if they want to pay somebody to conduct the investigation then I’m happy to relieve them of a couple of thousand quid and tell them that the accident was caused by the accidental spillage of a beverage made with boiling water.

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Hes 17!!! Be more careful!
This is so silly, McDonalds wouldnt have sold a cup of tea to a small child so you cant really compare!
Also, would you write to the star if your mum made you a cup of tea and you spilt it? No of course you wouldnt so quit whinging!

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I’m very sorry to see that he has suffered an injury, but no-one other than the teenager is at fault. I don’t know many people who would want to drink tea made with cold water so he just has to be more careful.

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how can people think they can claim for burning them self with i cup of tea would you claim of your mom if you spilt her tea no you wouldnt daddy is verry silly to even try england needs to get a grip

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Tea is hot. My three year old knows to be careful around hot drinks. This is similar to Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants in the US where a 79 yr old woman bought a coffee and spilled it on her self. She then sued. McDonalds were held to be 80% responsible for her injuries. Thankfully, common sense prevails (to some extend) and in the UK, Bogle v. McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd where it was held “If this submission be right, McDonald’s should not have served drinks at any temperature which would have caused a bad scalding injury. The evidence is that tea or coffee served at a temperature of 65 C will cause a deep thickness burn if it is in contact with the skin for just two seconds. Thus, if McDonald’s were going to avoid the risk of injury by a deep thickness burn they would have had to have served tea and coffee at between 55 C and 60 C. But tea ought to be brewed with boiling water if it is to give its best flavour and coffee ought to be brewed at between 85 C and 95 C. Further, people generally like to allow a hot drink to cool to the temperature they prefer. Accordingly, I have no doubt that tea and coffee served at between 55 C and 60 C would not have been acceptable to McDonald’s customers. Indeed, on the evidence, I find that the public want to be able to buy tea and coffee served hot, that is to say at a temperature of at least 65 C, even though they know (as I think they must be taken to do for the purposes of answering issues (1) and (2)) that there is a risk of a scalding injury if the drink is spilled.”

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If the tea was served in a polystyrene cup, as T Speak says, then MacDonalds is definitely at fault. MacDonalds normally serves Tea, Coffee and Chocolate in cardboard cups. Polystyrene is only used for milkshakes, cola and other cold drinks. My deepest sympathy to Ben Lewis.

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I think you will find the tea at mc d’s is actually superheated to above boiling point, and if 7 above says, the cup melted then clearly it was too high….clealry it was too hot, even for a regular hot t.

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At our local McDonalds you have to sign a disclaimer prooving you knew that the tea can be hot.This has caused more queuing but only about 40% of customers now get burnt.Cold tea is available but costs slightly more as you dont have to wait in the disclaimer signing queue.

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I personally witnessed Ben’s injuries and I can honestly say I was shocked and amazed at the severity of the burns to his legs. He is not a silly 17 year old and is a very responsible young man. This is actually what happened: Ben’s girlfrield passed the tea to him to hold in his hand. He did not have the tea in his lap at stated on a comment above. He actually was holding a Coke in one hand and the Tea in the other hand. As they drove away from purchasing their food and beverage they drove over a speed bump in Mcdonald’s car park and the tea spilt over his lap. May I point out the Coke he was holding did not spill a drop. The lid on the tea was not fastened on properly. Ben was in agony and went straight to the hospital were he was treated for his burns. The staff at the hospital could not believe that a cup of tea could cause such severe burns. I would like to point out to people who have commented above that we are all aware of tea being made from hot water but what non of the above seem to realise is that the extent of Ben’s burns and blisters on his legs could be caused by a cup of tea only. My question is how would some of the above people feel if it was their child, grandparent or a person with disabilities feel? I assume they wouldnt be very pleased either. By highlighting this case in the newspapers, Mcdonald’s etc will one create an investigation and two make people aware of how badly a person can be burned from a Mcdonald’s hot drink. Let’s all hope this doesnt happen again to anyone especially a vunerable person.

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So next time I get a little bit sunburned should I sue the weatherman for not applying the sun cream for me?

Bring on the ambulance chasers!

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hmmm, just to clear up a few things…where in the whole article did it state that i had the cup inbetween my legs?..nowhere, i was holding it with my right hand, with my coke in the left…after the speed hump the coke remained in my hand…coincidence? i dont think so.. was my girlfriend driving silly..no, as the speed hump was barely a few feet from the last window…unless she had a ferrari then the chance of breaking the limit in such a short distance is impossible…we were going no more than 5mph…lastly the lid was not on properly, so how is that my fault?…how would you feel if they served you a burger without the lid down?..would you eat it?…NO!

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Ken, what are you trying to say??

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Ben, whilst any accident is very unfortunate, I believe that you are dealing with this in an extremly childish way (and in your response at number 23). Granted, if containers are not fit for the purpose by all means let the manufacturers/companies concerned know but don’t come on here with attitude. Your entitled to opinions (such as contacting the newspaper to tell them your story), but don’t get all shirty when people respond with counter critiscm. Personally I think it was foolish to take hot tea in a moving vehicle, what would have happened if it spilled on your girlfriends leg whilst driving?. I hope you have no lasting scars but hope you think a bit more next time aswell.

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I think McDonalds were 100% to blame. They should have served the tea complete with asbestos gloves and a heat resistant waterproof apron. Come on Ben, get a grip, hot liquids will burn, even small children know this. Next time perhaps a little more care or maybe take your feeder cup with you.

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tc said: Mar 1st, 2010 at 22:59 I think you will find the tea at mc d’s is actually superheated to above boiling point, and if 7 above says, the cup melted then clearly it was too high….clealry it was too hot, even for a regular hot t.

Im not sure if you did any science at school, but it is Physically impossible to heat water above 100 Degrees C! after this point it is steam, it CANNOT exist above this as a liquid, hence the term BOILING POINT.

Funny how thousands of other people manage to drink tea/coffee from these guys every day with no problems!

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I suggest next time that you have a fruit shoot and a happy meal if thats all you can handle. I bet Injury Lawyers For You have recieved a phone call already.

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How is ben to blame for the staff not putting the lid on properly? This is clearly their fault. And no it dont say it was between his legs. Its not going to kill mcdonalds to compensate for their mistake especially with the price they sell their 8p burgers for and the ridiculous money they earn, and only pay their staff for the one of the meals a day. I could understand if it was in their proper card cups and sealed which Is how I have recieved them. But for it to be in a polystyrene cup and lid not on properly is not his fault.

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Get a life and get off your lazy backside and go IN for tea
It’s people like this who make me sick “Money, money money, give me money……
He needn’t think he’ll get millions like the US woman – nice try

He should count his blessings it wasn’t a super size!

Perhaps next time he should stick to a Happy Meal.

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Oh please God , don’t tell me this level of stupidity and litigation is starting in the UK as well ? I live here in the USA and we have to deal with these morons on a daily basis . “I was scalded in the mouth by a hot apple pie ” . The clue is in the name you knucklehead ! “The tea burnt me because it was between my knees as i texted while changing a CD in my car while driving over speed bumps” Which bit of Darwinism in action don’t you get ?? People this stupid need , and i mean NEED , to be neutered to try and stop even more dough heads wasting oxygen ! Don’t let this level of moron start please . Ooops , to late .

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And if the poor chap choked on a burger he would sue for them making too large me suppose? nonsense

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The case in the US where the woman sued for millions and won came about because McDonalds were serving their coffee a few degrees above the temperature that they were legally allowed to.

I’ve spilt freshly made coffee on myself before and that hasn’t even slightly burned me – for it to do that much damage the tea must have been significantly hotter than it should have been.

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You go Ben….
If it was child in that seat instead of Ben and they were holding the drinks i’m sure it wold be a whole different group of responces, They should have been given a cup holder
If the lid was loose then how could he have fitted it on properly with a coke in the other hand.
Some one got hurt and by the looks of the photo’s it was very painful.

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if you are too lazy to make your own cup of tea and you can’t think about the consequences of drinking and driving then what do you expect
Lesson: tea is hot, drinking hot drinks in the car might burn you….
not that hard to learn, is up there with keep your eyes open whilst crossing the road..

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Here is the punchline,
thank goodness he never had an apple pie, they are lethal a bit like napalm, as is the rest of their food.

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I think this guy should have taken more care. Tea is a hot drink, so surely its his responsibility to make sure that he was holding it safely. Compensation culture gone mad.

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‘If it was child in that seat instead of Ben and they were holding the drinks i’m sure it wold be a whole different group of responces (sic),’

Yes, there would have been. But then again no-one in their right mind would give a child a scalding hot drink to carry in a moving car, would they? And surely, wouldn’t any sensible adult, knowing they were about to set off in a moving car whilst carrying such an item might just consider ensuring that the lid was on properly before setting off?

Then again, there are plenty of adults who don’t even put their seatbelts on before setting off. There’s simply no accounting for people’s personal attitude to risk.

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This is why our insurance is so expensive nowadays, idiots claiming for things that with a tad of common sense could have been avoided. Seriously my 11yr old would know that a hot drink would need “nursing” if it was absolutely necessary to get a drink on the run. Ben your remarks make you sound even dafter than the story does!!

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