Delivery driver gets $50m payout from Starbucks after hot drink spills in his lap
17 March 2025, 15:46 | Updated: 17 March 2025, 15:51
A delivery driver has won $50 million from Starbucks after being passed a hot drink that spilled in his lap.
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Michael Garcia needed skin grafts on his genitals as well as other treatments after the incident at the drive-through in California in February 2020.
His lawyers said he suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, as well as physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress.
In his lawsuit he pinned the blame on Starbucks, saying the employee of the coffee giant who handed him the cup of tea did not fit it securely into a tray.
A Los Angeles jury sided with Garcia on Friday, awarding him the payout, which equates to about £38.5 million.
NEW: L.A. man wins $50 MILLION after suffering severe burns from spilled Starbucks tea
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) March 16, 2025
Delivery driver Michael Garcia suffered severe burns after a venti-sized Starbucks tea spilled on his lap on Feb. 8, 2020
His attorneys said the injuries were permanent and life-changing
The… pic.twitter.com/Xvj3xMzlr9
His lawyer Nick Rowley hailed the ruling, saying: "This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility."
Starbucks said it sympathised with Garcia but planned to appeal.
"We disagree with the jury's decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive," the company said in a statement.
The company said it was "committed to the highest safety standards" in handling hot drinks.
US restaurants have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly three million dollars (£2.3 million) in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald's drive-through.
A judge later reduced the award, and the case ultimately was settled for an undisclosed sum under 600,000 dollars (£463,000).
Juries have sided with restaurants at times, as in another 1990s case involving a child who tipped a cup of McDonald's coffee onto himself in Iowa.