Starbucks Lawsuit: A Man Suffered Third Degree Burns After Dropping Hot Tea in His Lap. He Was Just Awarded $50 Million

It’s been more than 30 years since the now infamous case of a woman who sued McDonald’s after she spilled a cup of scalding coffee into her lap, which ended up producing third-degree burns on over 16% of her body.

However, it appears that the question over who is liable in these situations, the customer or the company, remains from resolved.

Three Starbucks hot teas from the drive-thru. The incident centers on Michael Garcia, a Los Angeles man who was working as a Postmates driver in February 2020. That month, the then 25-year-old Garcia was picking up a delivery order of three venti-sized hot teas from the Starbucks drive-thru window. When Garcia took hold of the to-go carrier, one of them overturned, which spilled the hot tea all over his lap.

Garcia experienced severe injuries because of the incident, sustaining third-degree burns to his penis, groin, and inner thighs. The Los Angeles man has undergone multiple surgeries and skin grafts to treat his injuries. To this day, he continues to experience pain.

The allegations. Garcia proceeded to sue Starbucks, setting off a year-long court battle. According to Garcia, Starbucks was the one at fault in the incident because the barista failed to adequately close the lid on the drink, an action his attorneys classified as negligence.

Starbucks initially denied the allegations, The Los Angeles Times reported, stating that Garcia had not sustained “any injury, damage or loss by reason of any act or omission” by one of its employees. The company later claimed that Garcia was also at fault in the incident, stating that it was “contributory negligence.”

"Starbucks says if our hands are off the drink, then no matter what happens, we're not responsible," Nicholas Rowley, Garcia's trial attorney, said. "So, if I'm Starbucks and I hand you a drink that doesn't have a lid that's secured, and it's a scalding hot, 180-degree drink, or if I hand you a drink that's in a container and it's loose and it's not secured, and it falls right on you—the moment that I take my hands off of it, then you're responsible and I, the corporation, am not."

The lawsuit. Garcia’s lawyers say that Starbucks offered their client $30 million to settle the case confidentially. When the legal team countered and said they would accept $30 million without confidentiality and only if Starbucks apologized publicly and promised to change its policy around hot drinks, the company refused.

According to Garcia’s lawyers, Starbucks consistently denied responsibility for the incident throughout the five years the trial lasted.

The verdict. In mid-March, a California jury awarded Garcia, now 30 years old, $50 million in damages. Overall, the payout will amount to more than $60 million with pre-court interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees.

However, Starbucks said the fight isn’t over yet.

"We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, but we disagree with the jury's decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive," a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement. "We plan to appeal. We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks."

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Starbucks Lawsuit: A Man Suffered Third Degree Burns After Dropping Hot Tea in His Lap. He Was Just Awarded $50 Million

Michael Garcia suffered third-degree burns to his penis, groin, and inner thighs.

Starbucks says it plans to appeal the verdict in the case, and that it’s always been committed to the “highest standards of safety” in its stores.

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