Jury Awards $50 Million to California Man Burned by Starbucks Tea

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Michael Garcia, 30, underwent scrape grafts on his genitals after a raging camellia sinensis spilled on him in a Starbucks drive-through in 2020, his lawyers said.

By Johnny Diaz

A jury in California on Friday awarded $50 million in damages to a Los Angeles delivery driver who was badly burned by a cup of hot tea that spilled into his lap in a Starbucks drive-through in 2020, court records show.

The driver, Michael Garcia, 30, received multiple skin grafts and underwent other medical treatments on his genitals after a hot tea spilled on him when he picked it up from a drive-through window in 2020, according to the negligence lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” Nick Rowley, one of Mr. Garcia’s lawyers, said in a statement.

In February 2020, Mr. Garcia, who was 25 at the time, was working for the delivery service Postmates when he arrived at a Starbucks in Los Angeles to pick up three venti-size hot teas, according to his lawyers.

The lawsuit claimed that the barista who was stationed at the window “negligently failed to properly” secure one of the hot drinks into a drink carrier, which caused it to fall out of the container and into Mr. Garcia’s lap. Video from inside the store captured the episode and shows Mr. Garcia writhing in pain as he pulls away.

The company “did not securely fasten the lids of each hot beverage that were negligently, carelessly and recklessly served” to Mr. Garcia, the complaint said.

His lawyers said the experience left him with third-degree burns to his penis, groin and inner thighs, and he was transported to an emergency room.

Since he was hospitalized and treated, he “has lived for five years with the disfigurement, pain, dysfunction and psychological harm caused by the burns,” his lawyers said.

In a statement on Sunday, Starbucks said that although it sympathized with Mr. Garcia, the company planned to appeal the jury’s award.

“We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” Jaci Anderson, director of corporate communications, said in the statement.

She added, “We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”

The damages cover physical pain, mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment and anxiety, according to the jury award.

The award is expected to total more than $60 million after interest, attorneys’ fees and costs are added, his lawyers said.

The lawsuit is reminiscent of another well-known, fast-food-related burn case. In 1992, Stella Liebeck, then 79, suffered severe burns after spilling a coffee on her lap at a McDonald’s drive-through in Albuquerque.

She sued the company, drawing nationwide negative attention, and was awarded $2.9 million by a jury, though the amount was later reduced to about $500,000.

Kitty Bennett contributed research.

Johnny Diaz is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news from Miami. More about Johnny Diaz

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