A California jury has ordered Starbucks to pay $50 million to a Postmates delivery driver who says he suffered third-degree burns after a barista handed him a hot tea that spilled and scalded his penis in 2020.
Michael Garcia, 30, suffered “severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals” on Feb. 8, 2020, his lawyers wrote in court documents obtained Monday by USA TODAY.
The jury ruled that Garcia is now owed $50 million to compensate him for his “life-changing, catastrophic” injury, wrote his lawyer Michael Parker on Facebook on Sunday.
Garcia previously turned down an initial $3 million pre-trial offer from Starbucks, his attorneys said. Now he will instead get over $60 million after interest, attorneys fees and costs are added, his team said in a news release.
A spokesperson for Starbucks said in a statement Monday that the company has sympathy for Garcia’s plight but the jury got it wrong.
“We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” spokesperson Jaci Anderson said. “We plan to appeal. We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”
Video of the incident taken from inside the Starbucks location and reviewed by USA TODAY shows a barista handing the drink tray to Garcia. When the drink spills into his lap, he screams and his vehicle drives forward.
What happened to Michael Garcia?
Garcia, who was 25 at the time, was working for food delivery service Postmates on Feb. 8 2020 when he went to a Los Angeles Starbucks drive-thru to pick up three “medicine ball” hot teas, according to another lawyer working the case, Nicholas Rowley of Trial Lawyers for Justice.
The barista working the window did not properly “secure” one of the hot drinks into its drink carrier, according to Rowley. Within 1.4 seconds of Garcia taking the drink tray, the cup fell into his lap and the lid came off the cup.
He was taken to the emergency room, where doctors ruled that the scalding tea caused third-degree burns to his penis, groin, and inner thighs, his lawyers said. He was hospitalized and had to undergo multiple skin grafts.
Garcia was sent to a burn center, where they performed two skin grafts on his penis. Doctors also performed a procedure that removed the nerves from his penis, allowing him to feel more sensation. Doctors applied pig skin to save his penis.
Any friction around his genitals causes pain, and he now suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident, his lawyers said.
What else has Starbucks said about the incident?
Garcia’s lawyers said Starbucks has denied responsibility for the incident, despite having a corporate policy that requires its workers to secure drinks in the tray before handing them over to customers.
“Despite being repeatedly warned about the dangers of improperly secured drinks, (Starbucks) chose to ignore safety,” Rowley said in a news release, adding that Garcia’s life has “been forever changed.”
According to Garcia’s lawyers, Starbucks offered $3 million before the trial began, then $30 million to settle the case. Garcia initially agreed to $30 million as long as Starbucks would apologize, change its policies and issue a memo to all Starbucks restaurants to double check hot drinks before turning them over to customers.
Starbucks would not agree to the terms, Garcia’s lawyers said, leading the jury to rule that they must pay Garcia $50 million, which will amount to over $60 million after fees and interest.
Parker, another lawyer on Garcia’s team, said on Sunday that they fought for years for the outcome they got.
“Starbucks refused to give up the video of the incident until our firm got a court order and Starbucks was sanctioned over $7,000 for not turning it over,” Parker said. “After seeing the video, the jury voted 12-0 that Starbucks was liable.”
View the entire article at USA Today