People put hot coffee cups between their legs because they expect it to be below boiling temperature. And while it can still scald you it's not going to cause you long term pain, injure and disfigurement. McD's served superheated coffee meaning it was above boiling temperature. There's no reasonable way for a customer to know this or expect this without being privy to the methodology that McD's chose to use. Regardless of her carelessness with the coffee, McD's was at fault for the lack of warning which would have informed the customer that the coffee may be hotter than expectations and to use additional cautions when handling it. Even still McD's served the coffee superheated. That on it's own is irresponsibility. To use your analogy, you may drive a GM vehicle while drunk and be required to accept the responsibilities for doing so. That still doesn't indemnify GM from liability if the heated air coming from the heater is hot enough to give you 3rd degree burns if GM didn't warn you that normal operation may cause 3rd degree burns because the expectation is that the air from the heater will not be hot enough to injure you. God you're fucking dense.