The Los Angeles man was awarded $50 million Friday in a ruling against Starbucks after a 2020 incident in which a very hot tea spilled on his lap.
Michael Garcia suffered a life-changing burn after a Starbucks barista handed him a tray of drinks. According to To CBS News. After the spill, Garcia suffered three-degree burns, permanent genital damage and nerve damage. His lawyer reportedly reportedly suffers from severe PTSD, despite the man undergoing several surgeries and still dealing with pain every day.
The incident got caught up in a franchise security camera. The video shows a barista passing a tray of drinks to Garcia through a drive-through window. The tray appears to fall into his lap as he trembles in his seat before he immediately drives.
“Starbucks is not responsible for what happens, whether our hands are out of our drinks,” Garcia’s trial lawyer, Nicholas Raleigh, told CBS News. “So, when I hand over a Starbucks a drink that has no fixed lid, it’s either a hot 180-degree drink in capital letters, or when I hand you the drink in a container, it was loose, it was right for you, and you then take your hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6_zmmjgtmw
The ju umpire reportedly deliberated about 40 minutes before siding along with Garcia, giving him $50 million in damages. (Related: ju-describers award $71 million in TI, TI, TI in intellectual rights lawsuits against TOI, Toy Company MGA Entertainment).
“It’s a reasonable verdict. It’s justified. This injury changed Michael’s life and it was a terrible negligence,” Lowry told CBS.
Starbucks originally provided Garcia $3 million before the trial, the outlet quoted the lawyer. They later raised the offer to $30 million and settled the case.
Garcia agreed to the settlement on the condition that the major coffee chain apologized, changed the company’s policies, issued notes everywhere, and reaffirmed that the hot drink lid was safe before handing over to customers. Starbucks then rejected those terms.
“We have sympathy for Garcia, but we oppose the Ju Court’s decision that we are making mistakes due to this case and believe that the damages awarded are excessive,” a Starbucks spokesman said in a statement to CBS News. “We are going to appeal. We have always been working on the highest safety standards in our stores, including handling hot drinks.”
