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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I’m guessing if we all looked back at our dumbest “hold my beer” moment, NONE OF US would be reproducing if those were the standards.
I know I wouldn’t have. And I’m guessing neither would you :)
Just think how many seconds he saved by getting it at the drive-thru...
Not a bad idea but they might just bring it to their cars and put it between their laps :)
Isn’t there a cup to be made that takes some relative effort to dislodge part of the cap and then limits how much it can spill?
Seems with seld driving cars being made, this challenge shouldn’t be so hard :)
If they were not making money they would not sell the product.
Exactly. Much less winning a lawsuit over it.
Cars come with cup holders. There's NO reason he should have done something that stupid.
Precisely
Starbucks actually has an “extra hot” option when ordering.
Actually, there is, 50 million of them.
That was a ridiculous award.
People went to McD’s precisely because their coffee was that hot. People knew what to expect.
I would require that they can only purchase hot drinks at the drive thru if they purchased my reusable spill proof cup.
I would do a quick wash every time they came through, or have them trade their cup at the window for a clean one.
Problem solved, I think.
Anyone that would pay that much for burnt coffee would easily spend $25 for one of these cups.
“ I want a cup of plasma, at about 13,500 degrees (F).”
You mean magma?
Plasma. Stuff you pull right out of the sun.
I want sunshine in my stomach.
oh please.........putting the cup between her knees?
DO NOT POUR HOT DRINKS OVER YOUR GENITALS.
This has been a public service announcement.
Stupidity being rewarded.
Darwin would not approve.
As a result we’ve become a nation of the least fit.
No beverage presented for consumption to a customer should be that hot.
No food either. Nothing.
It is totally irresponsible to serve something so hot. Should a dish “call” for it like a flambé or something it should be clearly visible as flames are.
A tea is ordered to be drunk, not sit and cool for fifteen minutes. Fifty million is 49 million too much but still no restaurant of any kind should be serving lava.
Had you tried to sip it you’d have lost your lips
The McDonald’s case? That woman had her genitals melted shut! Poor lady. Always the subject of ridicule.
Yes spills hapoen and you could get a slight burn (I spilled coffee down my shirt once and blistered my stomach. I didn’t sue anyone). But nothing should be served so hot it requires skin grafts sorry
People who want to have everything served tepid so they can immediately dump it on their genitals can asked for it to be served that way.
The rest of us, having an IQ above 36, will live normally.
LOL
When will we return to commonsense law?
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