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A delivery driver was awarded $50m 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 on Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled just after he collected it on 8 February 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys.
In an Instagram statement, his attorneys said: “After a hospitalization and multiple skin grafts, Michael has lived for five years with the disfigurement, pain, dysfunction and psychological harm caused by the burns.”
According to his attorneys, Garcia sustained the burns from one of three venti-sized “Medicine Ball” hot teas that he was picking up.
The off-menu item consists of steamed lemonade, hot water, Jade Citrus Mint green tea, Peach Tranquility tea and honey, which internet users have hailed as a cure for cold symptoms.
“Starbucks offered $30m to settle but wanted confidentiality. We said we would settle for $30m without confidentiality and only if Starbucks agreed to publicly apologize and promise to change policy to prevent this from happening again,” Garcia’s attorneys added.
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.
“We are proud of Michael for standing up for himself and having the courage to tell his story,” Garcia’s other attorney said.
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.
US eateries have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3m 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 on to himself in Iowa.
