A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded a delivery driver $50 million in damages Friday for severe burns to his genitalia caused by a scalding cup of tea that spilled in the drive-thru of a Starbucks near USC.
According to court records, Postmates driver Michael Garcia suffered life-altering, third-degree burns in the Feb. 8, 2020, incident that was blamed on a barista’s failure to firmly secure the hot tea in a beverage carrier.
“Starbucks continues to prioritize profit over the health and safety of its customers,” said Nick Rowley, who is Garcia’s attorney and co-founder of Trial Lawyers for Justice. “Despite being repeatedly warned about the dangers of improperly secured drinks, they chose to ignore safety.”
Starbucks said in a statement Friday. March 14, that it will appeal the verdict.
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