A jury in the US on Friday (local time) ordered Starbucks to pay US$50 million ($79 million) in damages to a delivery driver who was severely burned by an improperly secured lid on hot beverages.
Michael Garcia was picking up drinks at a drive-through in Los Angeles when he “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals when hot drinks ultimately spilled” onto his lap, according to the lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in 2020.
The lawsuit accused Starbucks of breaching its duty of care by failing to secure the lid.
Michael Parker, Garcia’s lawyer, said his client was picking up three beverages and one of the hot drinks wasn’t fully pushed into the container.
When the barista handed Garcia the order, a drink fell out of the container and onto Garcia, Parker said.
Garcia’s damages included physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress, according to a recording of the verdict from Courtroom View Network.
Starbucks said it plans to appeal the verdict.
“We sympathise 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 company spokesperson said in a statement.
“We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”
The lawsuit is reminiscent of a famous 1994 lawsuit against McDonald’s in which a woman spilled hot coffee on her lap and suffered third-degree burns. The plaintiff in that case, Stella Liebeck, was originally awarded nearly $4.7 million.
