McDonald’s Settles Fat Lawsuit for $8.5 Million

February 15, 2005

  • February 15, 2005 at 11:19 am
    Florida Product Analyst says:
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    There’s a couple important issues here that I expect to be overlooked when people discuss this in the future — likely, as a “what a silly lawsuit, people suing because they got fat” claim.

    – The lawsuit isn’t regarding people getting fat, but McDonalds’ failure to live up to prior agreements to stop using a harmful type of fat (there are others that aren’t so dangerous, so it’s a conscious choice to use it). Apparently, the courts agreed that McDonalds has failed, and needs to do more.

    – The terms of the settlement involve giving money to a charity that helps people avoid and recover from the effects of this harmful type of fat, and money spent to more fully live up to the spirit of the prior agreement.

    The “Some lady sued McDonalds because coffee is hot” argument is also likely to pop up, so here’s a link to the facts of that particular case so folks can make sure they’re informed about the details before they bring it up, i.e. McDonalds was deliberately keeping their coffee at an unsafe temperature for who-knows-why:

    http://www.caoc.com/facts.htm

    It’s another case of holding McDonalds accountable for the choices it makes, and how those choices impact consumers who haven’t been alerted to the dangers they may pose. I think that we as insurance professionals should really think about this, and about our traditional roles as Risk Management professionals. If we can help our clients/insureds better manage their risk with prevention and avoidance, etc., we can do a heck of a lot better with the remaining liability risks they transfer to us. Not only would that improve everyone’s bottom line, it would go a long, long way toward improving our public image.

    It’s a win-win we should strive for, and I hope in the future we will achieve it.

  • February 15, 2005 at 1:44 am
    anon says:
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    How about some personal responsibility for the choices we make?!?

  • February 15, 2005 at 1:54 am
    David Warnick says:
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    I appreciate the thoughtfulness “Florida Product Analyst” has shown. Thanks for the info!

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:00 am
    Drewboy says:
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    Nice to see McDonalds get punished for not living up to their agreements. I don’t like eating there, not only because of the unhealthiness of the food, but also because of some of the experiences of my sister in law who has worked at a few.

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:00 am
    Mike Johnson says:
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    There seems to be less and less personal accountability in this world. People should have the common sense to know that eating fast foods will raise your cholesterol yet they continue to do that. I guess it is easier to file a suit than to get a gym membership.

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:02 am
    Dawn says:
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    I understand this is a follow-up issue that McDonald’s didn’t live up to.
    But the first lawsuit came about because people got fat eating McDonald’s. I liked the original oil- the fries just don’t taste the same anymore. The thing is that I ate a supersized order maybe once every couple of weeks. I didn’t eat it every day of the week. I knew it would make me fat. Just like anyone with any common sense. If I did choose to eat a supersize order (which some of the locations don’t even offer anymore) twice a day and gained 50lbs it wouldn’t be anyone’s fault but my own.
    Of course, I guess in the long run it is better for me, too, since I just don’t like the fries anymore.

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:09 am
    Florida Product Analyst says:
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    To Anon — Absolutely. The terms of the settlement are geared toward helping consumers make more informed decisions about McDonalds’ use of harmful fats, both directly by McDonalds and through the AHA. Nothing at all in the settlement absolves consumers of responsibility for what they do with that info once they have it.

    And coming back, I realized I was darn unclear with how I phrased my “the courts felt…” opinion. I assume from context that there was enough “validity” within the court system for the suits McDonalds was settling, otherwise the offer wouldn’t have been made. I think I came across more as implying the article said anything about a court judgement, which of course it didn’t!

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:11 am
    Barney says:
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    Of course, the REAL issue is lawyers! Come on folks, here’s another example of lawyers finding an issue, rounding up a bunch of Plaintiffs and filing a class action lawsuit. I really doesn’t matter that the lead Plantiff gave her piece to charity. It’s those legal fees that the court awarded the Plaintiff attorneys…above and beyond the damages! Look out “Krispy Creme”!!!

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:23 am
    boleeming says:
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    Everyone should read the book “Fast Food Nation – the dark side of the American meal”. If they did, McDonalds and most of the fast food chains would be out of business within a year. I felt like throwing up when I discovered the processes by which they get their meat and food supplies. I don’t care what kind of oil they use, you cannot pay me enough to buy their food ever again!!! The oil is the LEAST of the issues with their food.

    When one corporation, McDonalds, is the largest single purchaser of beef in this country, they get a lot to say about how that meat is raised, slaughtered and processed.

    What does an 800 lb clown do?

    Whatever he damn well pleases.

  • February 15, 2005 at 2:26 am
    Unbelievable says:
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    I am not sure why McDonalds was singled out for trans fats. Trans fat is used in many of the products we buy everyday such as cookies, peanut butter, margarine,frozen pizza etc. Our legal system is out of control. Before you know it the beer manufacturers will be sued for causing a DWI, the deli who makes the peanut butter sandwich,the English muffin baker will be sued for not putting a label on the package warning against the use of margarine and the store for selling pizza with trans fat.



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