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.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
Another example where a Jury needs to go to prison for playing stupid games with the legal system.
There were two purposes for this, first to avoid the coffee getting so hot it was dangerous. The other was to avoid the pot from boiling dry and getting so hot, from remaining on the burner getting heated past 212F, to the point where the pot itself was dangerous and could cause burns if touched.
Then the plaintiffs introduced photographic evidence that the self-serve pot could not be seen from behind the staff counter, so they could never see what its coffee level was. So it was physically impossible to obey McDonalds' own regulations for the self-serve coffee pot at the location it was when the injured plaintiff poured her coffee.
The case immediately settled and the self-serve pot's location was moved to where the staff could see it.
I agree. As a toddler, by cousin pulled the coffee percolator off the kitchen counter and badly burned her arm. She didn’t need skin grafts, either.
HOWEVER, this dork burned his crotch, so who knows? Or maybe it was all part of the long-term plan for litigation with a lawyer that was out for a big win?
I never knew there was a self-serve option for coffee. I’ve never seen it in other restaurants either, so did that case must’ve changed things, industry-wide?
Now, what about those HUGE coffee pots they use in the Church Basement during Coffee Hour or for lunch after a funeral? Are Lutheran Church Basement Ladies smarter than the average bear?
Maybe there’s some money to be made suing them! ;)
My recollection is that the injury in this case happened about 25-30 years ago. The McDonalds was located in a big Wal-Mart rather than being in its own building.
You miss the point.
Check
wouldn’t lose $50 million over the loss.
$1 burned crotch surcharge should take care of that.
I make coffee at home. If I spill it into my lap I may get slightly burned but it will not melt my privates shut or require skin grafts!
Food served should be edible. People are ordering edible (not tepid!) food. It’s a reasonable expectation. One orders tea with the expectation of drinking it.
Because I do not dump it on my lap and leave it there while I thrash around like a witless child the burns are small and easily taken care of although they do hurt.
However if I was to totally lose any vestige of common sense and dump it on my genital region and then sit there while the clothing held the heat against the damaged area it would indeed result in a much worse burn.
If you are not capable of learning what you should do if you manage to burn yourself please do stick with tepid.
In the McDonalds Donald’s case the elderly woman’s genitals were fused to her thigh. I hardly think blaming her for not writhing enough is reasonable.
McDonald’s had been warned of serving coffee at way too high temps at that location several times by health inspectors before her injury. They knew what they were doing and did not care.
I don’t require tepid coffee. But it should not be so hot that a spill requires skin grafting.
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