LA Jury Awards Delivery Driver $50 Million in Damages For Severe Burns Caused by Starbucks Tea

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.

A delivery driver has won $50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show. A Los Angeles County jury found Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled instants after he collected it on Feb. 8, 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys. Garcia’s negligence lawsuit blamed his injuries on Starbucks, saying that an employee didn’t wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeout tray. “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.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded a delivery driver $50 million in damages Friday for severe burns to his genitalia caused by a scalding cup of tea that spilled in the drive-thru of a Starbucks near USC. According to court records, Postmates driver Michael Garcia suffered life-altering, third-degree burns in the Feb. 8, 2020, incident that was blamed on a barista’s failure to firmly secure the hot tea in a beverage carrier. “Starbucks continues to prioritize profit over the health and safety of its customers,” said Nick Rowley, who is Garcia’s attorney and co-founder of Trial Lawyers for Justice. “Despite being repeatedly warned about the dangers of improperly secured drinks, they chose to ignore safety.” Starbucks said in a statement Friday. March 14, that it will appeal the verdict.