Starbucks owes a man $50 million after a cup of tea spilled on his lap at a California drive-through and permanently disfigured his genitals. An employee handed delivery driver Michael Garcia a takeout tray containing the scorching beverage on Feb. 8, 2020, which then spilled on his lap. The painful injuries in his groin left him permanently scarred, and he was forced to undergo medical procedures and skin grafts. A jury awarded Garcia $50 million on Friday, finding that the employee had not properly wedged the drink into the takeout tray before handing it to him. His lawyers claimed that the verdict was a “critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety.” Starbucks denied fault and said that the damages awarded were “excessive.” Garcia’s win mirrors a 1990s lawsuit against McDonald’s in which a woman was awarded $3 million in damages after a spilled coffee gave her third-degree burns and a 2023 case where a family received $800,000 after a McDonald’s chicken nugget seared their toddler and left her with second-degree burns.
