Delivery Driver Wins $50M in Starbucks Burn Case
A California jury has ordered Starbucks to pay $50 million in damages to a delivery driver who suffered severe burns when hot beverages spilled on his lap at a drive-thru, culminating a years-long legal battle that echoes one of America’s most infamous product liability cases. The verdict, delivered Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, represents one of the largest individual burn injury awards in recent history.
Michael Garcia, a Postmates driver, was picking up three beverages at a Starbucks drive-thru in Los Angeles’ Jefferson Park neighborhood in 2020 when a 180-degree, venti-sized “Medicine Ball” drink fell onto his lap, according to NBC Los Angeles. The incident resulted in life-altering injuries including third-degree burns to his genitals and inner thighs.
Improperly Secured Lid at Center of Case
According to testimony presented during the trial, one of the hot drinks wasn’t fully secured in the drink carrier when the barista handed Garcia his order. Video footage from inside the drive-thru appeared to show that one of the three drinks was not properly placed into the tray before being handed to Garcia.
“Despite being repeatedly warned about the dangers of improperly secured drinks, (Starbucks) chose to ignore safety,” said Nick Rowley, one of Garcia’s attorneys. The lawsuit highlighted that Starbucks has a documented corporate policy requiring hot drinks to be fully secured in trays before being handed to customers — a policy that wasn’t followed in this case.
Michael Parker, another lawyer representing Garcia, explained that when the barista handed Garcia the order, the improperly placed drink fell out of the container and onto him, causing immediate and severe injuries, as reported by CNN.
Extensive and Permanent Injuries
The jury found Garcia suffered extensive damages, including “physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress,” according to court records. Medical experts testified that Garcia could have done nothing to avoid his injuries when the scalding liquid spilled.
Evidence submitted during the trial demonstrated that Garcia was left with permanent disfigurement, discoloration, and sexual dysfunction. He also now suffers from severe PTSD related to the incident — a condition acknowledged even by Starbucks’ own expert witnesses during testimony.
“Michael Garcia’s life has been forever changed. No amount of money can undo the permanent catastrophic harm he has suffered,” Rowley stated following the verdict.
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Settlement Attempts Rejected
Court documents revealed that before the trial, Starbucks had initially offered $3 million to settle the case, later increasing the offer to $30 million as the trial proceeded. Garcia reportedly agreed to the higher amount under specific conditions: that Starbucks would issue a formal apology, change its policies, and send a memo to all Starbucks locations requiring employees to double-check hot drinks before handing them to customers.
When Starbucks declined these additional terms, the case proceeded to the jury, which ultimately awarded Garcia $20 million more than the company’s highest settlement offer. The jury determined Starbucks was fully liable for Garcia’s injuries after considering all the evidence.
Starbucks Plans Appeal
Following the verdict, Starbucks expressed disagreement with the decision and announced plans to appeal the case. “We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, but we disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”
Legal experts note that the case bears similarities to the famous 1994 Liebeck v. McDonald’s lawsuit, in which 79-year-old Stella Liebeck was awarded nearly $3 million after suffering third-degree burns from spilled coffee. That case, often mischaracterized as frivolous in popular culture, also involved severe burns from beverages served at temperatures later deemed dangerously high.
Industry-Wide Implications
Consumer safety advocates suggest the substantial verdict could prompt fast-food and coffee chains industrywide to review their hot beverage handling protocols. The temperature of served beverages has long been a point of contention in the food service industry, with companies balancing customer preferences for hot drinks against safety concerns.
“This verdict sends a clear message that food service establishments must prioritize customer safety over operational convenience,” said consumer safety expert Julia Reynolds, who was not involved in the case. “When policies exist to prevent injuries but aren’t followed, companies can and should be held accountable.”
The substantial damages awarded in this case reflect both the severity of Garcia’s physical injuries and the psychological impact of the incident, as the jury determined that his quality of life had been permanently and significantly diminished as a result of the burns.
