If there were no penalties assessed in the settlement, why do anything right? You can beat most lawsuits, so even when you legitimately owe money, you can simply refuse to pay. On those rare occasions that you lose, all you have to do is cough up what little money you owed in the first place.

McDonalds had an abysmal safety record. Numerous examples of their disregard to customers were made available during the trial. Furthermore, their cavalier attitude towards the lady with skin grafts angered the jury. They decided to give an astronomical settlement to send a wake-up call to McDonalds. They knew, as did everyone else, that this amount would be lowered in appeal.

I think the original settlement was something like 300 million dollars, whereas the final settlement was just over 1 million.

-Biscuits