WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A Los Angeles jury awarded $50 million to a man who suffered severe burns from a scalding hot tea spill at a Starbucks drive-thru in 2020.
Michael Garcia, a Postmates driver, was picking up an order at the Exposition Park location on February 8, 2020, when a barista handed him a tray of drinks.
According to court records, Garcia had ordered three venti-sized 'medicine ball' teas. The lawsuit alleged that the barista negligently failed to secure one of the cups in the to-go tray. Within 1.4 seconds of Garcia taking the tray, the unsecured cup fell, its lid popped off, and the tea caused third-degree burns.
Surveillance footage from inside the store also supported Garcia's story, showing that atleast one cup was tipping over almost immediately and spilling onto his lap.
'Starbucks says if our hands are off the drink, then no matter what happens, we're not responsible,' said Garcia's trial attorney Nicholas Rowley. '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.'
Garcia suffered severe injuries, requiring skin grafts and other medical procedures on his genitals. He began treatment at the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles six days later, on Valentine's Day. His lawyers argued that he experienced permanent loss of sensation and long-term effects from the injuries.
'Michael Garcia's life has been forever changed,' Rowley said in a statement to The Associated Press. '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.'
Before the trial, Starbucks offered Garcia a $3 million settlement, later increasing it to $30 million. Garcia was willing to accept, but only if Starbucks apologized, updated its policies, and required stores to double-check hot drink security. When the company declined those conditions, the case proceeded to trial.
The jury ultimately ruled in Garcia's favor, concluding that Starbucks had breached its duty of care by failing to properly secure the drink. The verdict resulted in one of the largest personal injury awards of its kind.
'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,' the Seattle-based company's spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News Los Angeles. '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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