Jury awards LA man $50 million from Starbucks case due to lifelong injuries from spilled tea

A Los Angeles man was awarded $50 million from a jury Friday in his case against Starbucks after he suffered life-altering burns when a cup of scalding hot tea spilled into his lap in 2020. 

It happened at an Exposition Park drive-thru window, where Postmates driver Michael Garcia was awaiting a delivery on Feb. 8, 2020. When the barista handed him a tray full of drinks, at least one overturned. His noticeable reaction can be seen in security camera footage from inside the location at 1789 West Jefferson Boulevard.

Court records show Garcia had ordered three venti-sized “medicine ball” hot teas and was picking them up at the drive-thru when the lawsuit alleges the barista “negligently” failed to properly secure one of the drinks into the to-go carrier. The lawsuit says the unsecured cup fell directly into Garcia’s lap within 1.4 seconds of him taking possession of the tray, with the lid popping off and hot tea leaving him with third-degree burns.

“Starbucks says if our hands are off the drink, then no matter what happens, we’re not responsible,” said Garcia’s trial attorney Nicholas Rowley. “So, if I’m Starbucks and I hand you a drink that doesn’t have a lid that’s secured, and it’s a scalding hot, 180-degree drink, or if I hand you a drink that’s in a container and it’s loose and it’s not secured, and it falls right on you — the moment that I take my hands off of it, then you’re responsible and I, the corporation, am not.”

The spill left Garcia with life-changing injuries including third-degree burns, nerve damage and permanent injury to his genitals. Lawyers say that he’s already had multiple surgeries and that he still experiences pain every day. On top of this, they say that he suffers from severe PTSD. 

“Michael Garcia’s life has been forever changed,” Rowley said in a statement after the verdict. “No amount of money can undo the permanent catastrophic harm he has suffered, but this jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility.”    

Jurors deliberated for just about 40 minutes on Friday before siding with Garcia, awarding him $50 million in damages from the world famous coffee chain. 

“It’s a reasonable verdict. It’s justified. This injury changed Michael’s life — it was gross negligence,” Rowley said. 

In response to the verdict, a Starbucks spokesperson shared a statement with CBS News Los Angeles. 

“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,” the statement said. “We plan to appeal. We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”

Rowley said no amount of money could make right what happened to Garcia. 

He began receiving treatment at the Grossman Burn Center in LA on Valentine’s Day, six days after the incident. He underwent skin grafts that his lawyers say left him with some permanent loss feeling, and evidence presented during the trial showed the life-long implications of some of his injuries. 

Starbucks had initially offered $3 million to Garcia pre-trial, later upping that amount to $30 million to settle. Garcia agreed, but under the condition that they apologize, change their policies and issue a memo to all store locations to double-check their hot drinks before handing them to customers, attorneys said. 

When they declined to agree to those terms, the jury eventually decided to award Garcia with Friday’s total. 

It’s not the first time the coffee giant has faced legal action over spilt drinks at the drive-thru. In 2018, a 22-year-old Northern California man spent 11 days in the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center and was left with life-changing injuries after hot tea spilled into his lap while he was picking up an order at a drive-thru. 

A year earlier, a woman in Denver sued Starbucks over a drive-thru spill that severely injured her and left her dog dead.

About The Author

Stephen Collopy

See author's posts