A Los Angeles man won $50 million in damages when a jury agreed that a Starbucks location was negligent after he suffered life-altering burns when a drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-thru, according to court records.
Postmates driver Michael Garcia suffered third-degree burns to his penis, groin and inner thighs when a cup of scalding-hot tea spilled on his lap on Feb. 8, 2020, after a barista handed him a tray full of drinks and at least one beverage overturned.
His reaction was caught in security camera footage from inside the Los Angeles-based Starbucks.
Garcia underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after the venti-sized (equivalent to a large) tea drink spilled. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his lawyers.
Despite two skin grafts, any friction to the areas causes Garcia pain, his lawyer said.
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.
“Starbucks says if our hands are off the drink, then no matter what happens, we’re not responsible,” Garcia’s lawyer Nicholas Rowley 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,” Rowley explained.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” Rowley said in a statement.
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“No amount of money can undo the permanent catastrophic harm he has suffered, but this jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility.”
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 it is “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
Starbucks had initially offered $3 million to Garcia pre-trial, later changing the amount to $30 million to settle, according to CBS News. Garcia agreed, but said that Starbucks had to apologize, change their policies and issue a memo to all store locations to double-check their hot drinks before handing them to customers, his lawyers said.
When Starbucks reportedly declined to agree to Garcia’s terms, the jury awarded him with the $50-million total on Friday.
There have been similar cases in Canada, the most recent involving an Ontario woman and her family in March 2023.
Jackie Lansing and her family are seeking $500,000 after she said she was severely burned by a cup of tea from Tim Hortons.
Lansing told Global News she was taking her sister to a medical appointment in May 2022 when they stopped at one of the restaurant’s Huntsville, Ont., locations.
She said she ordered a medium tea with milk. Once she received her order, she said she placed it in the cupholder and pulled out of the drive-thru and into the parking lot.
“On top of the cup it said B Tea, which means black tea. So I knew the order was wrong. So I went to lift the cup up to check it, and the cup completely collapsed on itself,” she recounted.
A statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in November 2022 stated that Lansing suffered second-degree burns to six per cent of her body, including her stomach and legs, and alleged negligence by the defendants.
U.S. eateries have also faced previous lawsuits 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-thru. 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.
— With files from Global News’ Shallima Maharaj and The Associated Press
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