India, March 17 -- A Los Angeles jury awarded $50 million to a man who suffered severe burns from a scalding hot tea spill at a Starbucks drive-thru in 2020.
Michael Garcia, a Postmates driver, was picking up an order at the Exposition Park location on February 8, 2020, when a barista handed him a tray of drinks.
According to court records, Garcia had ordered three venti-sized "medicine ball" teas. The lawsuit alleged that the barista negligently failed to secure one of the cups in the to-go tray. Within 1.4 seconds of Garcia taking the tray, the unsecured cup fell, its lid popped off, and the tea caused third-degree burns.
Surveillance footage from inside the store also supported Garcia's story, showing that atleast one cup was tipping ...