No, the famous hot-coffee lawsuit did not result in lower service temperatures. Coffee is still widely served at the same flesh-burning scaldingly hot temperatures:
> "Since Liebeck, McDonald's has not reduced the service temperature of its coffee. McDonald's current policy is to serve coffee at 176–194 °F (80–90 °C),[37] relying on more sternly worded warnings on cups made of rigid foam to avoid future liability, though it continues to face lawsuits over hot coffee.[37][38] The Specialty Coffee Association of America supports improved packaging methods rather than lowering the temperature at which coffee is served. The association has successfully aided the defense of subsequent coffee burn cases.[38] Similarly, as of 2004, Starbucks sells coffee at 175–185 °F (79–85 °C), and the executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America reported that the standard serving temperature is 160–185 °F (71–85 °C)."
That's a shame. And also on appeal, the judgement was tamped down. What is the system working here is that the woman got her medical bills paid for, and in a country where medical bankruptcy is a routine thing, that's really important.
There are good reasons for the industry standard high holding and service temperatures. I can tell when coffee has been sitting at temperatures that are too low.
I'm glad Stella got her bills paid, but no, that's not how the system is working. Successful hot coffee lawsuits are extremely rare. I'm aware of only a couple successful payouts in case alleging only excessive temperature. The only two "hot-coffee" lawsuits I know of in the past couple of years both involve defective lids and insufficient warnings.
> "Since Liebeck, McDonald's has not reduced the service temperature of its coffee. McDonald's current policy is to serve coffee at 176–194 °F (80–90 °C),[37] relying on more sternly worded warnings on cups made of rigid foam to avoid future liability, though it continues to face lawsuits over hot coffee.[37][38] The Specialty Coffee Association of America supports improved packaging methods rather than lowering the temperature at which coffee is served. The association has successfully aided the defense of subsequent coffee burn cases.[38] Similarly, as of 2004, Starbucks sells coffee at 175–185 °F (79–85 °C), and the executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America reported that the standard serving temperature is 160–185 °F (71–85 °C)."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Rest...