Retiree left with ‘horrific burns' from McDonald's coffee, according to lawsuit
An 84-year-old man in Mississippi is suing McDonald 's for gross negligence over super-hot coffee that he says left him with "horrific" third-degree burns.
Former oil worker Joseph Gentry, of Long Beach, Mississippi, was a "healthy, robust, retired gentleman" when he pulled up to a McDonald's drive-through window on January 14, 2023, his lawyers claim.
But after his coffee cup accidentally spilled on his legs while being handed to him, he allegedly suffered "enormous pain and suffering" as well as "mental anguish" and required skin grafts.
The lawsuit, filed on March 19 by Gentry and his wife Beth, raises questions about whether McDonald's has improved its safety practices since the famous and much-misunderstood 'hot coffee lawsuit' of 1994, when a 79-year-old woman sued the fast food giant over very similar injuries.
Back then, a jury ruled that McDonald's had been grossly negligent in selling coffee at such scalding temperatures and awarded the woman damages, but her case was later touted as an example of excessive lawsuit culture in the U.S.
"As a direct and foreseeable result of these burns, Mr Gentry suffered severe and chronic physical pain, had to undergo extensive medical treatment, incurred extensive bills and incidental expenses, and is permanently scarred and disfigured," reads Gentry's lawsuit, which was first reported by the Mississippi Sun Herald. (Warning: links contain graphic photos of injuries.)
It claims that the coffee cup's lid popped off while it was being passed to Gentry due to known "design defects" and demands unspecified damages from both McDonald's and its franchisee, Ten D Enterprises.
McDonald's, along with Ten D's owner Bill Descher, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is far from the first time fast food joints have been sued over the temperature of their products. McDonald's was hit with coffee lawsuits in 2012 and 2023, plus a similar suit over a burning-hot Chicken McNugget, while Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and Chick-fil-A have also faced legal action.
During the 1994 case — formally known as Liebeck v McDonald's, after its plaintiff Stella Liebeck — the jury heard that McDonald's required its franchisees to keep coffee at up to 190F, and that this temperature could cause third-degree burns within three seconds.
The trial also uncovered that the company had received more than 700 reports of coffee burns between 1982 and 1992, and had settled out of court with some of the injured people, but had declined to change its procedures.
The jury ultimately awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensation and imposed another $2.7 million in punitive damages against McDonald's, which the judge reduced to $480,000.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Horror moment 'Twilight killers' decided to slay family before cosy film night
'Twilight killers' Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham plotted together to butcher Edwards' own mother and sister, in a twisted plan borne out of an intense and warped relationship On the evening of April 13, 2016, Kim Edwards and her boyfriend Lucas Markham carried out a despicable double murder before settling in for a cosy movie night. The couple, who were just 14 years old at the time of the killings, ruthlessly killed Edwards' mum, Elizabeth, 49, and younger sister Katie, 13, in the culmination of a wicked plan the so-called 'Twilight killers' had concocted together at a McDonald's. Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court heard how, on the night of the murders, Markham had walked for about 30 minutes along Coronation Channel in Spalding, Lincolnshire, with four knives packed into his rucksack. He then knocked three times on a bedroom window, in a signal they had pre-arranged together. Opening a bathroom window, Edwards allowed Markham to enter the property from the shed roof, advising him on how to move around her family home quietly and undetected. READ MORE: Schoolboy's five chilling words after battering teacher and leaving her in pool of blood As would be later detailed during their trial, Edwards and Markham were involved in a twisted, intense relationship, which Edwards' mother, Elizabeth, disapproved of. Dinner lady Elizabeth attempted to split the young couple up, even contacting their school in an attempt to stop them spending so much time together. This left Edwards and Markham furious, and a sinister plan began to emerge, which psychologist Emma Kenny later compared to "Romeo and Juliet, but in a very dark manner", in an interview with the Mirror. Things began to escalate in March 2016, when Edwards was hospitalised following a suicide attempt. After she was discharged, she and Markham ran away together and were eventually found five days later, living in a tent in a neighbouring town. On April 9, 2016, Edwards and Markham barricaded themselves in Markham's room before heading to Edwards' home to retrieve her contraceptive pill. Once they arrived, they discovered Elizabeth had cleared Edwards' belongings out of the house, even given some of her possessions to Katie, whom Edwards already harboured resentment towards. In one police interview, Markham revealed the first time he raised the idea of killing Elizabeth and Katie. He remembered: "I said 'I wish I could kill them' and she said 'yeah', she thought I was joking but I was joking and then she realised I was being serious so she started being serious as well." The pair planned for Markham to stab Elizabeth in the throat to stop her screaming, while Edwards murdered Katie. Markham later told officers: "I went into her mum's room, stabbed her in the neck while she as asleep, then smothered her face with a pillow." Markham stabbed Elizabeth eight times, twice in the neck, once in the shoulder. The stab marks on her hands showed that the mother had struggled against her assailant. Recalling how she'd heard noises coming from her mother's room during the viscous attack, Edwards told police: "I went into the room to see what was going on because I heard noises and I wanted to check. "He was on top of her with like a pillow over her head. I though I heard her say 'get off me' but I'm not entirely sure. The after about 10 minutes of Lucas putting his weight on her, she was dead." Edwards ultimately decided she couldn't kill Katie, as she "couldn't take away those hopes and dreams". It's was then that Markham took over, slaughtering little Katie in the bedroom she'd shared with Kim. He remembered: He said: "I went into Katie's room, which was the same room as Kim's. I thought I stabbed her but it was the mattress and then I smothered her face with a pillow too." After the bloody killings, the pair took a bath, ate teacakes and ice-cream, and had sex, before cuddling up on the sofa to watch the teenage vampire movie, Twilight. They had intended their plan to end with their own suicides, but they ultimately decided not to go along with it, instead spending the next two days watching films, having sex and eating ice-cream. All the while, the bodies of Elizabeth and Katie lay upstairs. Eventually, their absences started to be noted, and officers broke into the property. Police found the teenage couple downstairs, and could barely bring themselves to believe they were the ones responsible for the horrific scenes they encountered upstairs. Delving into some of the simmering tensions at the heart of her troubled family life, Edwards described her Katie, as "an angel" and herself as a "train wreck", claiming that she'd felt her mother had loved her little sister more. She felt her mum loved her little sister - but she herself felt outside the family unit. Following her arrest, Edwards told officers: "Ever since I was young, I have never got on with my mum, I knew she favoured my sister more than me. Even when she said she didn't, she was lying." Both Markham and Edwards were given life sentences and ordered to spend at least 17 years behind bars.
Scottish Sun
30-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Horror moment teen McDonald's customer has huge machete held against his neck before brutal fight in restaurant
A machete ban in the state was announced on the same day MACHETE MAYHEM Horror moment teen McDonald's customer has huge machete held against his neck before brutal fight in restaurant Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the terrifying moment a teen thug presses a machete into a boy's neck at a McDonald's restaurant. Four teenagers have been arrested over the machete madness, which was followed by a vicious punch up in the toilets of the fast food chain in Melbourne, Australia. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 The machete is pressed horizontally into the victim's neck Credit: Wyndham TV 5 The foot-long blade can be seen glinting in the light Credit: Wyndham TV 5 The was also a fierce punch up between two teens Credit: Wyndham TV The saga was filmed on a mobile phone, and the footage is shocking. It shows a group of teens jostling in the toilets when one, wearing a yellow t-shirt, whips out the evil blade. He hands it to a pal who forces the victim, wearing a blue t-shirt, to his knees. While the lad is down, the wielder presses the foot-long knife horizontally into his neck - but thankfully appears not to slice him. He then taps him twice on the neck, yelling out threats all the while. A later clip shows two of the teens fiercely pummelling each other with a flurry of fists. One lad is punched to the ground, but the yellow-t-shirt teen keeps raining down with blows. The lawless behaviour happened inside a McDonald's toilet on Monday afternoon in the Truganina area of Melbourne. Victoria Police believe up to five teens could have been involved in the assault, but they have arrested four and only two were charged. A spokesperson said: 'One of the boys has been charged with aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle, false imprisonment, producing child abuse material, assault with a weapon and possessing a controlled weapon. Horror moment knifeman is shot dead at top Brit holiday airport after threatening terrified tourists and lunging at cops 'He was bailed to appear at a children's court at a later date. 'A second boy is expected to be charged on summons. The two victims of the chaos were both 15-years-old, and neither of them were injured. A wave of knife crime has plagued Victoria - prompting the local government this week to usher through a ban on the sale of machetes across the whole state. 5 One teen is smacked even after he has fallen to the ground Credit: Wyndham TV 5 The two victims were 15-year-old, and neither of them were injured Credit: Wyndham TV Premier Jacinta Allan announced the measure following advice from police on the same day as the McDonald's mayhem. She said: 'In Victoria, community safety comes first. We must never let places we meet become places we fear. 'I hate these knives, and I will keep introducing as many laws as it takes to get them off our streets, out of our shops and out of our lives.' The law was meant to come into force on September 1, but was brought forward in light the recent spike in incidents.
New European
27-05-2025
- New European
Dilettante: When is it the right time to leave home?
They were about as pleased with the choice as you'd imagine. Still, teenagers can sometimes be unstoppable forces, and I wasn't to be messed with when I'd made up my mind. After a number of pleas, arguments and fruitless searches for a plan B, they let me do what I wanted to do. They let me leave Nantes, at 17 and three quarters, and move to London to start a degree in journalism. It was, in retrospect, completely mad. I still can't believe they let me get away with it. In fairness to them, I didn't really give them a choice: at the age of 17, I went to my parents and informed them that I had applied to several universities in Britain and none in France. If they wanted me to continue studying, they would have to let me cross the Channel a few months later. If they didn't: to McDonald's I'd go. I'm glad I won, obviously, but can now see why my parents struggled to let me go. I wasn't even 18 yet! It was an entirely different country, with a different language! I didn't know anyone there! I did become a legal adult within months of moving but, really, it took several more years for me to stop being a chaotic child. For quite a long while, I ended up acting like one of those kittens or puppies that got separated from their mother too early, and doesn't know how to behave as a result. I was still a very rough first draft by the time I left home, and there are so many ways in which things could have gone wrong. The fact that I'm writing this today means that they didn't, thankfully. If anything, I feel lucky and pleased that I got to build a life for myself from scratch, at such a young age. I behaved like a complete idiot for what felt like decades but, at the end of the day, I'd mostly calmed down before I'd even reached my mid-twenties. My friends and peers were still partying till the small hours and consuming all sorts of not-so-legal substances, but I'd already packed all that in. I started early then got out early. I can still feel the ripples from my decision today: I may only be in my early thirties now but already feel that I've lived a lot, and have no great regrets when it comes to my misspent youth. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, thank you very much. Suggested Reading Have I become British? Marie Le Conte It's also what worries me about all these kids staying at home for longer and longer. A recent study showed that, as of 2024, 30% of British 18-year-olds were planning to stay at home during their studies, up from 21% in 2015. For the avoidance of doubt, I don't blame them, or at least don't blame them all. I'm sure many of them would rather fly the coop and spend three years in increasingly messy houseshares, but the cost of both housing and life in general is preventing them from doing so. Still, the results are the same. Instead of moving out as a teenager, a lot of today's youths will be celebrating their entry into the roaring twenties while still living with mum and/or dad. Hell, they may even decide to stay for a little while after graduation, as finding a job doesn't always happen immediately, and it's nice not to have to pay council tax. Twenty-one may turn into 22, then 23, 24 and… well, instinctively I just feel sorry for them. So much happened to me in those years: I did so much growing up, and learned the hard way that, when it comes to building the person you're meant to become, there are no shortcuts. What would have happened to me if I'd just stayed home for all those years? I doubt I'd be the same, and I doubt my life would have been as successful. Then again, perhaps I missed out on some things. I am, at time of writing, about to head to Rome for my mother's 60th birthday. I am looking forward to it, but still quite apprehensive; we've rarely spent extended periods of time together as adults. I'm sure it'll go well, but that relationship, alongside the one I have with my father, feels like something we've all had to work on, nearly from scratch. They didn't get to watch me finish growing up, and so we've had to rebuild our foundations bit by bit. Would things have been different if I'd spent more time at home? Almost certainly. I have friends who stayed hidden in the nest for longer than I did, and they seem closer to their parents than I am to mine. There isn't much I can do about the past, though, but that's why this holiday, and others like it, matter so much to me. It's never too late to mend the ties you once severed, because all you wanted was to feel free.
