A California jury Friday imposed a $50 million fine on Starbucks in the case of a delivery driver burned by a scalding cup of hot tea at a company location in Los Angeles.
Michael Garcia was picking up three drinks in 2020 but one, he claimed, was “negligently” unsecured and spilled in his lap. He claimed that he consequently “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals” and he was taken to an emergency room by paramedics.
And served drinks should not be third degree burn hot anyway.
A quick search says that coffee is typically made at around 200°F (93°C), and water can cause 3rd degree burns within a couple of seconds of contact at 150°C (60°C), so it’s not unthinkable that a freshly made coffee would be dangerous.
A proper cup with a secure lid would make the difference.
They really should have learned from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants
Third degree burns are NO JOKE, particularly in such a sensitive area. If you google around a little you can see the burns on the leg of Simone Evans, another plaintiff vs. Starbucks in a similar, ongoing case (NSFW!)
Yep, seems like maybe another make an example case?
A bigger example, because clearly they didn’t learn from the first one. With personal consequences for the managers who set the temperature too high.