Near-boiling coffee with a faulty lid left Starbucks customer badly burned, suit says
A South Los Angeles woman is suing Starbucks for negligence after she claims she was scalded at a drive-through window in Lynwood.
Muriel Evans filed a complaint Wednesday with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Compton. She alleges that a faulty coffee cup lid and the excessive heat from her beverage led to severe burns after a barista spilled coffee into her lap.
Evans is asking for general and special damages, including her medical, hospital and incidental expenses, and punitive damages to “set an example” of Starbucks. She claims the corporation is indifferent “to the obviously dangerous mixture of excessively hot temperatures combined with defective lids.”
“Starbucks has shown a reckless disregard for the safety of its customers, continuing to serve scalding hot coffee in defective cups despite countless reports and warnings,” Evans’ attorney Nick Rowley said in a statement.
A Starbucks representative responded briefly: “We take pride in ensuring our beverages are crafted with care and delivered to customers safely. We take all claims seriously, but we will not be commenting on pending litigation.”
The Seattle coffee giant said Brian Niccol, the chairman and CEO of Chipotle, will become Starbucks’ chairman and CEO on Sept. 9.
Evans pulled into the Starbucks drive-through on Aug. 25, 2022, and ordered a coffee, according to the lawsuit.
A Starbucks employee then “mishandled” the coffee and spilled it onto Evans’ lap, with the hot liquid rolling down her left leg, according to the lawsuit.
Evans said she suffered severe and permanent burns to her body along with nerve damage and disfigurement.
Evans’ legal team believes the coffee’s temperature was 190 degrees, just a little less than boiling.
Previous Starbucks’ guides have listed most hot beverages at between 150 and 170 degrees.
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Water heated to 120 degrees takes five to 10 minutes to cause a third-degree burn; at 131 degrees, it’s 10 to 30 seconds; and at 140 degrees, it’s two to five seconds, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
As for the lids, there have been various media articles and threads and videos complaining about Starbucks’ lids and their ease in falling off, including on Reddit and TikTok.
Starbucks is facing similar lid lawsuits.
A San Fernando Valley teen filed a suit in June against the company, alleging she was burned by a hot tea. The teen’s drink was double-cupped, but the lid popped off, the lawsuit alleges.
“Muriel Evans suffered severe burns because Starbucks prioritized cost-cutting over basic customer safety,” Rowley said. “We intend to hold Starbucks fully accountable for their blatant disregard and gross negligence.”
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