What were the facts of the case ?
1) That coffee machine had a broken themostat, the company knew this, refused to pay for repairs -what she was handed was superheated bomb ready to explode. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheated_water
2) That poor old lady suffered severe third degree burns over more than 30% of her body resulting her being permanently confined to a wheelchair.
3) She never sued for lots of money, *all* she asked was that McDonalds pay for her medical care resulting directly from their greedy negligence. McDonalds refused and refused to settle, only then did she go to court and *still* only asked for her medical costs to be reimbursed.
4) McDonalds then went on a massive smear campaign painting her as a greedy idiot in an effort to (1) reduce negative public perception, (2) influence the jury and (3) lobby for weaker negligence laws and deregulation. 
5) They lost the case - and it was the JURY who awarded her big punitive damages she never asked for.