LOS ANGELES — The delivery driver won $50 million in the lawsuit after suffering serious burns when a Starbucks drink spilled into his knee at a drive-thru in California, court records show.
A ju umpire in Los Angeles County discovered Michael Garcia’s Friday after a bench-sized tea drink spilled in an instant on February 8, 2020, and then undergoes genital skin grafts and other procedures. He suffers from permanent and life-changing obstacles, according to his lawyer.
Garcia’s negligence lawsuit accused the injury at Starbucks, saying that employees did not slurp the hot tea into the takeout trays in a fight.
“This ju-search verdict is an important step in holding Starbucks accountable for not underestimating their clients’ safety and not accepting responsibility,” said Nick Lowry, one of Garcia’s lawyers, in a statement.
Starbucks said he had sympathy for Garcia but would appeal.
The Seattle-based coffee giant said in a statement that “it opposes the ju apprentice’s decision that we are responsible for this incident and believes there is an excess of damages,” adding that it is “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
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American restaurants face lawsuits before they exceed customer burns.
In a well-known case in the 1990s, a New Mexico ju-deciding umpire awarded a woman with nearly $3 million in damages for the burn she suffered while trying to put a lid over a coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru. The judge later reduced the award, and the lawsuit was ultimately settled for a private amount of less than $600,000.
Like another case in the 1990s, the ju umpire occasionally sided with restaurants.
