A Texas woman is suing Starbucks and one of its baristas, alleging she was badly injured by a cup of hot coffee that spilled into her lap.
According to the lawsuit, Katherine Mize of Houston was buying coffee at a drive-thru Starbucks in July, 2014. The barista, identified in the lawsuit as āBrie," handed Mize a 20-ounce cup of coffee.
Mize alleges that Brie held the cup from the lid and put her arm directly into her car to pass it to her but then dropped it, spilling the coffee into Mizeās lap.
Mize jumped out of the car, yelling in pain, but her lawsuit alleges that nobody helped beyond getting her a new coffee.
Mize suffered second-degree burns and says she needed to take a month off work to recover.
Mizeās lawyer, Brian S. Humphreys of the law firm Abraham Watkins, says their lawsuit alleges the Starbucks employee was negligent in not handling the hot coffee properly.
āThatās the primary reason the lawsuit is being brought is because a Starbucks employee spilled the coffee on her. She didnāt handle it carefully, and dropped the coffee in her lap,ā Humphreys told Ā鶹“«Ć½ Channel from Houston Thursday.
Humphreys says his client tried several times over the last two years to get Starbucks to acknowledge her injury and compensate her for medical expenses and lost wages.
āShe attempted for a long time to make this right. She contacted Starbucks very soon after the incident through their online complaints system; never got a call back. Her friend contacted them; she was ignored as well.ā
Humphreys says it wasnāt until he began sending letters to Starbucksā head office that they heard anything back from the coffee retailer.
Some might compare this suit to a famous case in which a jury awarded a New Mexico woman US$2.7 million after McDonaldās coffee spilled in her lap. But Humphreys says, in that case, the jury found that McDonaldās knew their coffee was too hot, so awarded punitive damages against the fast food giant.
āWe havenāt seen any indication that this was anything intentional; however, it was negligent,ā he said.
Humphreys adds that his client realizes everyone makes mistakes, but says this instance is different.
āWhen a mistake happens due to someone elseās carelessness and you suffer a serious injury as a result, both the American and the Canadian law give you the right to seek redress in the courts for that,ā he said.
Starbucks has responded to the lawsuit by issuing a statement that reads: "The health and safety of our customers and partners (employees) is always our top priority. We are evaluating the customer's claims and determining the appropriate next steps."
