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.
It’s the McDonald’s thing all over again. Coffee should never be hot enough to require skin grafts if it spills. Doesn’t matter how clumsy the customer is.
i guess it has been 30 years since that lady, time to remind these companies to adjust their water temp sensors
With deregulation coming down hard right now, everyone should expect to hear more about capitalistic corner-cutting injuries. Or not, I’m sure the media will be neutered.
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The hell does that have to do with hot tea at Starbucks
Lol. I apparently got really fn lost. Hahahah. Thanks for the heads up.
Maybe starbucks can learn from that and invest an extra cent per cup to make safer cups? Or decrease water temperature? And I hope wronged customers everywhere will learn from that not to make shadybsettlements like the McDonalds case!
Kramer was ahead of his time!
Kramer Tries To Sue A Coffee CompanyAbsolutely 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.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.
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?
… I’d take the 3 mill for a couple of skin grafts. 30 is just fantastic.
His penis is permanently disfigured.
Not just like most American penises…more. Like Deadpool’s Penis.
The article doesn’t give much, and a lawyer claiming something is considerably damaged when defending a client is always hyperbolic. Did you look up more info?
Either way, 30 mill could set you and your descendants (should you be able to make any) for life. Life’s pretty damn short, so never having to work again at the cost of not being able to crank it anymore? I’d seriously consider it.
We’re so glad to have your nuanced take here. Thanks for stopping by!
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.Thank you your honor. We appreciate your hard work!!
Finally, someone standing up for the big business to defend them from exploitation and fight for their right to disfigure our penises!
Yes because being a big business automatically makes it their fault. 😜
I’d say that negligence made it their fault, but u do u 😘
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.
look at the footage. Chrits, 100% Starbucks fuckup
Sorry what footage? I don’t see any, and I read 2 articles about it?
It’s in this comment thread
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. 😜😜😜
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I sympathize with him for that, but it is not evidence of guilt.
All drinks to be served cold from now on.
Found the person who bought the PR and thinks the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit was frivolous.
No I was just making a simple joke at someone else’s expense
Frappes are very nice.
Delivery drivers are not served!
And served drinks should not be third degree burn hot anyway.
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.
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.
Optional warm up window is available outside for additional fee
One drink per 2 hands!
