Currently watching Hot Coffee, a documentary that takes a look at so-called frivilous lawsuits.

It focuses on that infamous case from years ago where an elderly women spilled coffee on herself, sued McDonald’s, and won $2.7 million dollars.

Did you know that the woman was burned so badly from the coffee, she required skin grafts? Did you know the burns were between her legs and on her crotch? The movie shows the damage of her burns and it turned my stomach.

The movie blazes through her story quickly and jumps into commerce’s attempts to cap the types of damages a citizen can be rewarded in civil cases. According to the movie, it’s the coffee case that is most often cited as an example of what a frivolous lawsuit is, and why reform is needed to stop citizens from milking millions from large companies. Caps and tort reform and all that business.

For the public relations firms, lobbyists, and politicians representing tort reform, it is just that— business. For the people with skin grafts, amputated legs, and fetal brain injuries, it’s not business, its their lives.