Starbucks hit with $50 million fine for spilled drink injury
www.voanews.com
Delivery driver says tea burned him

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.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
    546·
    1 day ago

    Absolutely insane!! WTF is wrong with you USA?
    This wasn’t due to just the servers mistake. He spilled it on himself, holding 3 drinks while sitting down. Clearly he has part of the blame himself.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
            11·
            18 hours ago

            Thanks, OK watched it, and the server very clearly put the drinks thoroughly in the tray.
            And the driver 100% drops the drinks himself. Also he is parked too far away from the window, so the server has to stretch quite a bit to give it to him.
            Seems to me it’s at least as much the drivers drivers fault. But wua wua he was the victim. 😜😜😜

    • keckbug@lemmy.world
      37·
      2 days ago

      Garcia was later treated at the renowned Grossman Burn Center, where he received not one but two skin grafts on his penis. Garcia’s attorney, Trial Lawyers for Justice co-founder Nick Rowley, said Garcia’s penis was permanently discolored and disfigured, with less length and less girth.

      Rowley said the key evidence during the trial was the surveillance footage of the incident taken from inside the coffee shop. Rowley said the footage clearly showed the barista secure two of the cups in the caddie but not the third, causing it to spill less than two seconds after Garcia took it into the car.

      https://www.courthousenews.com/starbucks-hit-with-50-million-jury-verdict-for-hot-tea-that-scalded-and-disfigured-postmates-drivers-penis/

      He didn’t hold 3 drinks, he was handed a drink carrier and one of the drinks was negligently secured. The jury took 40 minutes to determine that Starbucks was at fault, and Starbucks themselves offered $3m and $30m settlements at different points. How much do you think two skin grafts to your genitalia are worth?

      • Halosheep@lemm.ee
        14·
        1 day ago

        … I’d take the 3 mill for a couple of skin grafts. 30 is just fantastic.

        • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
          5·
          1 day ago

          His penis is permanently disfigured.

          Not just like most American penises…more. Like Deadpool’s Penis.

    • foggy@lemmy.world
      291·
      2 days ago

      We’re so glad to have your nuanced take here. Thanks for stopping by!

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        333·
        2 days ago

        Your comment adds nothing, and is just a waste of space.
        If you find this kind of fines to be OK for an accident, then how about if it wasn’t Starbucks, but a privately owned cafe?
        Having the risk of that kind of fine as a minor business is insane. If this happens only against major businesses it’s exploitation of that.

        • person1@lemm.ee
          41·
          21 hours ago

          Finally, someone standing up for the big business to defend them from exploitation and fight for their right to disfigure our penises!

            • person1@lemm.ee
              21·
              18 hours ago

              I’d say that negligence made it their fault, but u do u 😘

              • Buffalox@lemmy.world
                11·
                18 hours ago

                Just watched the video, and the drinks seems to me to be firmly seated in the tray by the server. The driver spills the drinks on himself after the server very carefully gave them to him.