Starbucks ordered to pay delivery driver $50 million after he suffered life-changing burns from hot tea
A lawsuit claimed that a Starbucks barista had 'negligently failed' to secure one of three venti-sized Medicine Ball tea drinks before handing the order to Michael Garcia, who was working for Postmates at the time, the firm representing him, Trial Lawyers for Justice, said.
One of the drinks fell on Garcia's lap, causing third-degree burns to his penis, groin and inner thighs, leading to 'hospitalization and multiple skin grafts,' his attorney said.
A Los Angeles County jury awarded Garcia, who has suffered suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys, $50 million.
'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 to media outlets, 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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