A Los Angeles man was awarded $50 million from a jury Friday in his case in opposition to Starbucks after he suffered life-altering burns when a cup of scalding sizzling tea spilled into his lap in 2020.
It occurred at an Exposition Park drive-thru window, the place Postmates driver Michael Garcia was awaiting a supply on Feb. 8, 2020. When the barista handed him a tray stuffed with drinks, a minimum of one overturned. His noticeable response could be seen in safety digicam footage from inside the placement at 1789 West Jefferson Boulevard.
Courtroom data present Garcia had ordered three venti-sized “drugs ball” sizzling teas and was selecting them up on the drive-thru when the lawsuit alleges the barista “negligently” did not correctly safe one of many drinks into the to-go provider. The lawsuit says the unsecured cup fell instantly into Garcia’s lap inside 1.4 seconds of him taking possession of the tray, with the lid popping off and sizzling tea leaving him with third-degree burns.
TRIAL LAWYERS FOR JUSTICE
“Starbucks says if our arms are off the drink, then it doesn’t matter what occurs, we’re not accountable,” stated Garcia’s trial lawyer Nicholas Rowley. “So, if I am Starbucks and I hand you a drink that does not have a lid that is secured, and it is a scalding sizzling, 180-degree drink, or if I hand you a drink that is in a container and it is free and it is not secured, and it falls proper on you — the second that I take my arms off of it, you then’re accountable and I, the company, am not.”
The spill left Garcia with life-changing accidents together with third-degree burns, nerve harm and everlasting harm to his genitals. Legal professionals say that he is already had a number of surgical procedures and that he nonetheless experiences ache every single day. On prime of this, they are saying that he suffers from extreme PTSD.
“Michael Garcia’s life has been eternally modified,” Rowley stated in a press release after the decision. “No amount of cash can undo the everlasting catastrophic hurt he has suffered, however this jury verdict is a crucial step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for buyer security and failure to just accept accountability.”
Jurors deliberated for nearly 40 minutes on Friday earlier than siding with Garcia, awarding him $50 million in damages from the world well-known espresso chain.
“It is a affordable verdict. It is justified. This harm modified Michael’s life — it was gross negligence,” Rowley stated.
In response to the decision, a Starbucks spokesperson shared a press release with CBS Information Los Angeles.
“We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, however we disagree with the jury’s resolution that we have been at fault for this incident and consider the damages awarded to be extreme,” the assertion stated. “We plan to attraction. We’ve got at all times been dedicated to the best security requirements in our shops, together with the dealing with of sizzling drinks.”
Rowley stated no amount of cash might make proper what occurred to Garcia.
He started receiving remedy on the Grossman Burn Center in LA on Valentine’s Day, six days after the incident. He underwent pores and skin grafts that his legal professionals say left him with some everlasting loss feeling, and proof introduced through the trial confirmed the life-long implications of a few of his accidents.
Starbucks had initially supplied $3 million to Garcia pre-trial, later upping that quantity to $30 million to settle. Garcia agreed, however below the situation that they apologize, change their insurance policies and challenge a memo to all retailer areas to double-check their sizzling drinks earlier than handing them to clients, attorneys stated.
After they declined to conform to these phrases, the jury finally determined to award Garcia with Friday’s whole.
It is not the primary time the espresso large has confronted authorized motion over spilt drinks on the drive-thru. In 2018, a 22-year-old Northern California man spent 11 days within the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Middle and was left with life-changing injuries after sizzling tea spilled into his lap whereas he was selecting up an order at a drive-thru.
A 12 months earlier, a girl in Denver sued Starbucks over a drive-thru spill that severely injured her and left her dog dead.
