Posted October 30, 2012 at 7:12 p.m., updated October 30, 2012 at 7:12 p.m
STUART — Treasure Coast residents were treated to “the rest of the story” on Oct. 22 when the Martin County chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL) held a free screening of the highly acclaimed HBO documentary “Hot Coffee” at the Lyric Theater.
FAWL board member Linda Weiksnar of Crary Buchanan Attorneys at Law was among those who brought the film into the community. Hailed as a groundbreaking documentary on the American civil justice system, the film presented a very different perspective than what was portrayed in the media on the $3 million verdict awarded a woman who was severely burned when she spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee on her lap.
“As the documentary showed, McDonald’s knew the risks after 700 or so other scald-related injuries, and chose to ‘play the odds,’” explained Weiksnar. “That disregard for the well-being of its customers led the jury to make the punitive monetary award – something most people never knew.”
The moral of the story? “Don’t rush to judgment,” Weiksnar advised.
