Posted on 03/16/2025 8:48:18 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
A delivery driver has won $50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show.
A Los Angeles County jury found Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled instants after he collected it on Feb. 8, 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys.
Garcia's negligence lawsuit blamed his injuries on Starbucks, saying that an employee didn't wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeout tray.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” one of Garcia's attorneys, Nick Rowley, said in a statement.
Starbucks said it sympathized with Garcia but planned to appeal.
“We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive," the Seattle-based coffee giant said in a statement, adding that it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
U.S. eateries have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3 million in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through. A judge later reduced the award, and the case ultimately was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000.
Juries have sided with restaurants at times, as in another 1990s case involving a child who tipped a cup of McDonald's coffee onto himself in Iowa.
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Another example of how the judiciary in this craphole is the greatest threat to America.
I don’t mind seeing Starbucks losing in court.
Starbucks didn’t learn from the McDonalds lawsuit over hot coffee from days of yore.
I’m sorry, but if you’re too mentally compromised to be able to figure out that scalding hot coffee gripped between your thighs while driving is a bad idea, then you honestly have no business driving (or reproducing for that matter).
Did he show the jury his before and after pictures?
Being judged by a jury of ones' peers has risks when the jury has a below 80 IQ
Case settled for less than $600k.
Should have been nothing.
STOP SELLING HOT DRINKS AT THE DRIVE THRU===
SOLVES THE PROBLEM.
COME INSIDE & DRINK / GET IT THERE.
‘Tort reform’ was a big talking point years ago that just sorta evaporated from the discussion.
Me either but this is ridiculous. “Gee who would’ve ever thought boiling water could be hot?”
Starbucks has never been my cup of tea.
In the infamous “McDonald’s Hot Coffee” case, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman, suffered third-degree burns after spilling hot coffee from a McDonald’s cup that she was holding between her knees while removing the lid to add cream and sugar.
In 1992, Liebeck, in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car, ordered a cup of McDonald’s coffee at a drive-through in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her grandson parked the car so she could add cream and sugar, and she placed the cup between her knees to remove the lid. When she pulled the lid, the coffee spilled, soaking her sweatpants and causing scalding burns to her thighs, buttocks, and groin.
Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16% of her body, requiring an eight-day hospital stay, skin grafts, and two years of recovery.
Liebeck sued McDonald’s, arguing that the coffee was negligently made and served at an excessively high temperature (180-190°F), which is 30-40 degrees hotter than other coffee shops.
The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages, reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her 20% at fault, and $2.7 million in punitive damages for McDonald’s callous conduct. The trial judge reduced the punitive damages to $480,000, and the parties later reached a confidential settlement out of court.
The case became a flashpoint in the debate over tort reform, with some viewing it as an example of frivolous litigation while others saw it as a case of negligence and a company prioritizing profits over customer safety.
Tea is 212 degrees at best. It quickly cools. You can add water or even ask to add water if you want it slightly cooler. This is totally ridiculous. It happened to McDonald’s as well. I figure the Starbucks attorney screwed up, or they got a ridiculous judge. I assume it will be overturned.
“I’m sorry, but if you’re too mentally compromised to be able to figure out that scalding hot coffee gripped between your thighs while driving is a bad idea, then you honestly have no business driving (or reproducing for that matter).”
Pretty much every car over the last 20 years has drink holders in either the center console or on a door. There is no need to be a drink between your legs for anything other than warmth.
"Flagrant" would be if the Starbucks dead-ender threw a pot of hot tea in the complainant's face. As it is, spills happen, part of life's rich tapestry and all.
A handsome payout, to be sure, if the clumsy complainant collects. Still, I'd be too embarrassed to bring suit were I in the situation.
I don’t want tea. I want a cup of plasma, at about 13,500 degrees (F).
Don’t drink and drive!
“..who underwent skin grafts”
Bullsh** When I was a kid I jumped on a counter top in our kitchen and knocked over a kettle of boiling water and it went down my arm to my chest. I didn’t have any skin grafts, all I got was huge blisters and slight scars. And that water was as hot as it could get.
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