When you buy a hot drink from a café, do you ever worry about spilling it on yourself? After all, it's a hot liquid, but people have coffee and tea-related mishaps all the time in movies and real life, and most seem to come away without serious injuries, right?
Well, Michael Garcia was an unlucky fellow who had a first-hand experience with being burned by a drink that was far too hot. This wasn't your simple scalding either, but was described as a "permanent and life-changing disfigurement" by his lawyer. Now, although it took time, a jury finally admitted that Starbucks was at fault for the accident.
Most, obviously, would not like to get scalded at a cafe, but likely don't really consider how serious the risk may be
Image credits: Whitney Davis
Yet, Michael Garcia, who went through exactly this, has been left with what was described as a "permanent and life-changing disfigurement"
A giant in the coffee industry, Starbucks was recently ordered to pay $50 million to a drive-thru customer after he was burned when their hot drink spilled on him.
According to his attorneys, on February 8th, 2020, Michael Garcia was working as a Postmates delivery driver, and he was tasked with picking up three venti-sized “medicine ball” teas from Starbucks. He made the order in a cafe’s drive-thru, where they were placed in a cardboard carrier. It was handed to M. Garcia, but one of the cups fell, popping off its lid and spilling directly on the man’s lap.
Image credits: Kate Trysh / Pexels (not the actual photo)
This caused severe burns to M. Garcia’s genitalia, causing nerve damage, something that his lawyers dubbed as a “permanent and life-changing disfigurement.”
The man sued the coffee giant for breaching its duty of care by not failing to put the drink’s lid on safely. A Los Angeles County jury agreed with such a claim, and it was decided that the victim should receive a payout for the harm he suffered.
In 2020, when he was picking up a delivery of teas from a drive-thru, one of the cups fell, the lid popped off, and hot liquid spilled on his lap
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Starbucks declared that they disagreed with this decision. They do not accept that they were at fault, as they are (paraphrased) "always committed to the highest safety standards while handling hot drinks and that M. Garcia failed himself to be careful with a drink, which also played a part in the accident." Thus, in the company’s eyes, the sum they have to pay is excessive, and they’re planning to make an appeal.
Michael Garcia’s case with Starbucks isn’t the only instance in history where a big food or drink-related franchise was ordered to pay a large sum of money to a person who was hurt by their products.
In a lawsuit for the company's breach of duty, it was emphasized that the man suffered severe burns and nerve damage to his genitals, something that permanently altered his life
Image credits: Daniel Andraski / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Way back in 1994, the famous “Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants” case took place. In it, a 79-year-old woman named Stella Liebeck purchased hot coffee from a McDonald's restaurant but accidentally spilled it on her lap, which caused third-degree burns to her pelvic region. Such an injury took a few years of treatment, which ended up costing a pretty penny—without even considering the emotional aspect.
The woman sought McDonald's to cover her medical expenses, which they refused to do, so they were sued for gross negligence. When the jury found the company to be 80% responsible for the incident, they had to pay her $160,000 in compensatory damages, and $640,000 in punitive damages.
Image credits: Komarov Egor 🇺🇦 / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Another similar case took place in 2023. In it, an eight-year-old girl’s leg got burned by a “dangerously hot” McDonald's Chicken McNugget from a Happy Meal. The family sought $15m in damages and when a jury found the franchise liable for the injury, the girl was given $800,000 for suffering and mental anguish, a decision that the family's legal team dubbed as “momentous.”
Receiving such large sums of money can, in fact, be momentous. Still, we should never forget that the payouts are usually appropriate for the harm caused, so don't get any ideas of injuring yourself for a payout! There are plenty of other better ways to make money that don’t involve life-changing disfigurements.
In the end, it was ordered that Starbucks should pay the man a large sum of money, causing netizens to recall other similar cases that have happened—but some were not so empathetic
