Each morning I get my large coffee at the golden arches and no matter how I hold the cup I end up with coffee on my hand, briefcase or shoes. I didn’t realize that was potentially my retirement fund. Seriously, I would love to see someone invent a cup for these places that didn’t fold up or leak. It seems to me that these cups become cheaper and more flimsy all the time. Room out there for you inventors to make some big bucks.
I missed the Consortium reference the first time and had to go back to re-read the story. Nice one!
I’m starting to think everyone needs to sell hot beverages in “sippy cups”. Obviously theres way to many coffee and tea drinkers out there with the intelligence of 2 year olds.
Guess what… it’s hot tea… it’s, reapeat after me, HOT. That’s how you odered it. If it was luke-warm tea you would complain to the barista and scream that you wanted your $8 mocha-choca-chai tea frappy with skinny milk, extra dry, and hot.
Agree with your comments and loved the consortium reference.
Since NJ is one of if not the most litigious states in the country you could see this one coming. Most people have the common sense to check the lid and make sure it’s secure before leaving the store. I’d also be willing to bet this moron grasped it at the top of the cup (the weakest point) and it “popped” the lif off. With a name like Antonio Couso I’d bet he belongs to some trade union, probably cement. They’re some of the worst when it comes to looking to sue somebody. I wonder what his co-workers would say if they knew he’s a girlie man who drinks tea?
Correct me if im wrong, but isn’t third degree burn when the skin actually gets charred and burns off in flakes of ash? I’m not a doctor so I could be wrong.
Even though this is a frivolous law suit, I love seeing starbucks get sued. Not only does their coffee suck @ss, it’s WAY over priced. Burger King has better Coffee.
I also don’t think this guy was a tradesman. when’s the last time you saw a construction worker walk out of starbucks? They have more common sense than to spend $5 on a small up of caramel vermin marsupial latte.
Here’s an idea: take responsibility for your own life. Realize that some loss and difficulties can occur. Some are unavoidable, some aren’t. If you injure yourself due to your own negligence, get over it and learn from the experience.
Of course, if too many people did the above, then we wouldn’t have low-lying, scum seeking, bottom feeding snakes…oops! I mean lawyers, politicians and government bureaucrats.
I happen to agree with other commenters that Starbuck’s coffees/teas are overpriced and overrated. Nevertheless, it disgusts me that someone would try to collect from a big-business entity because it may have what plaintiffs’ lawyers refer to as “deep pockets”, over a spilled hot-beverage incident. Betcha this guy’s lawyer wouldn’t have accepted his case if it involved a tiny independent local coffee shop rather than a major retailer . . . (at least not on a contingent fee basis).
I hope Starbucks and their insurers don’t cave in and settle with this guy just to make him go away. He should have to prove his case in court. If he wins, so be it. If not, his loss may discourage other opportunists from filing similar lawsuits.
Very easily. Being born in the same mud hole with personal injury attorneys, Judges apparently put their brains on the shelf and blindly allow any and all complaints, regardless of how silly, stupid, frivolous, or groundless to be filed and gum up the court docket. They will never do anything to prevent their former colleagues from having a shot at making some money. A major flaw in our legal system is that it doesn’t allow for common sense. Lady Justice will always be “blind”. In far too many instances she’s also deaf and dumb.
This one time, in high school…my uber brilliant, top 10% of her class, friend of mine and i went to a local coffee house and got our MEDIUM double mocha chocha lattes. She went to get a lid for hers but couldn’t find the size so she grabbed a lid for the LARGE cups. Clearly the company was negligent for not providing all “safety” materials. and why on earth should we have bothered to ask for a smaller lid…?
anywho… One gulp and that drink was ALL OVER her chest. no burns, no pain, just a ruined polo from the local neighborhood TJ Max and tears of laughter from her ever sympathetic friend.
I think the only stupid thing about that day was not suing the coffee house. We could have had our college educations paid for…her for burned boobies and me for the emotional damage of seeing my friend burn her boobies.
This one time, in high school…my uber brilliant, top 10% of her class, friend of mine and i went to a local coffee house and got our MEDIUM double mocha chocha lattes. She went to get a lid for hers but couldn’t find the size so she grabbed a lid for the LARGE cups. Clearly the company was negligent for not providing all “safety” materials. and why on earth should we have bothered to ask for a smaller lid…?
anywho… One gulp and that drink was ALL OVER her chest. no burns, no pain, just a ruined polo from the local neighborhood TJ Max and tears of laughter from her ever sympathetic friend.
I think the only stupid thing about that day was not suing the coffee house. We could have had our college educations paid for…her for burned boobies and me for the emotional damage of seeing my friend burn her boobies.
I don’t understand anyone buying Starbuck’s products, but there are plenty that do. Whether it is Starbucks or McDonald’s the consumer should have the sense to make sure the lid is secure and
use caution when picking up a hot liquid.
Stupidity clause is in effect here.
I hate to belabor the obvious, but no one has mentioned the big McDonald’s coffee fiasco out of New Mexico where the woman dumped her hot coffee in her lap. She won over $600k from a jury of her (our?) peers simply because the judge allowed the plaintiff’s lawyer to put on evidence of the total income earned by McDonald’s on hot coffee over the course of one year. The award was a %age of that figure. Of course a bright(er) judge gave McDonald’s a remittitur which dropped the award down to something like $200k, but nevertheless, that case went the full route thru the courts with that dimbulb result. Ridiculous.
Judges don’t have the stones to limit irrelevant testimony and exhibits and juries are often too stupid to follow the bouncing ball. We have to remember this case was in NM and at the risk of being called a racist, what were the last names of the plaintiff and the jurors?
Haven’t read the posts yet but yet again here is your typical entitlement ***** suing a deep pocket for free money based up all lack of personal responsibility and accountibility. i hope starbucks drags this out and sues this P. of S. into the gound.
We whiners don’t go there, why would we. Never have! Still have a right to an opinion. Drink your heart out at Starbucks, see if we care. Just make sure your lid is securely fastened.
tea business and let government provide our coffee and tea. Those nasty private coffee providers have been screwing voters for years by serving hot drinks that burn citizens indescriminately!!!!
We will never get hot/medium/tepid drinks at the right temperature and the coffee providers are making millions for their CEO’s off the backs/tongues/palates of taxpayers. Time for government coffee kiosks to solve our liquid temperature problems once and for all. Oh, and while we’re at it, lets governmentalize insurance too.
I don’t go there either and I really wasn’t thinking about you when I posted under “cure…”. It’s the people that do go there & whine about it. They should vote with their feet & wallets.
You know… embarassing story but when I was a very young man I was eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of my grandmother’s TV from one of those flimsy TV trays every grandmother had back in the day.
Well, you can see where this is going…
I spilled the soup into my lap. My legs were badly scarred (and remained that way until highschool – at least).
Guess who I sued? My grandmother? Campbells soup? K-Mart (where the TV trays probably came from)? Whatever low-rent company made the TV trays?
Noone. Nope… I didn’t need a PI attorney, didn’t need an accountant and a Brink’s truck.
I think I got a bowl of ice cream as a pay-off from my grandmother to not tell my mom. That’s all this guy deserves… a hug and a bowl of ice cream from the Starbucks people.
I am not a big fan of Starbucks, but as long as we have attorneys that take these cases and judges that award them, they will be around! After all, they make money off of these cases.
Dear Nobody Important: while not a totally bad idea, it treats the symptom and not the cause. You can’t “idiot proof” everything in the world. Why is it so important to have coffee while driving a car? It’s dangerous and as you point out, it always spills. There’s nothing wrong with the current cups as long as you don’g grab them around the top. That’s the weakest point and it causees the cup to collapse. When you pick it up at the middle or lower there’s no probelm. Regardles of the cup, there are those idiots who will find a way to spill it. Retailers contingue to play this checker game with consumers. It would serve people right if they were required to sign a waiver of liability and acknowledge an assumption of risk for any hotl liquit.
You know, they don’t even offer lids for the coffee in my office. Every couple of days or so, I will splash a little on my hand on the way back to my office. (Ever notice the coffee always seems to spill toward your hand, not away from it?)
Anyway, I just realized that all I have to do is sue our cafeteria vendor and I won’t have to worry about the lack of growth in my 401K!
I mean really. Starbucks purposely made his tea too hot just so he would get burned and suffer… I just know it!
Next week he will sue because the tea was too cold..
come on Goldilocks get over yourself. Did he not THINK to check the lid before picking it up? It’s called common sense, he should try using it sometime.
I totally agree with you. I was just pointing out that there is significant room for improvement in the cups. The ones I get leak no matter how or where you hold them. If I had a problem with being burnt by this leakage I wouldn’t buy the coffee. I accept the horrible danger inherent in my cup of caffiene in the morning.
Is this customer too LAZY to tighten his own cup top??? [he MUST be Jewish!]
SO WHAT if he spilled his tea and the top was on loose. He COULD’VE tightened it….DUH…………….
[Customer might have been hard up for $$$].
Wait until you hear my next great idea – governmentalize dry cleaning. Those nasty dry cleaners have been losing trousers hither and thither, and creating
unseemly profits for drycleaning CEO’s.
Its high time we let government do our dry cleaning and bear the societal costs of drycleaning through our tax structure. It’s not my fault there’s hot sauce on my cargo shorts. That kind of catastrophe could afflict anyone.
Anyone remember the fold out handles that used to be on paper cups?? Maybe they could go back to those and have a completely closed lid with a straw that you have to suck on to get at the contents. It could be filled like syringe bottles & you could hold it in your teeth!
….or something like that. Nah, this yahoo would probably find a way to defeat it anyway & whine to the suit pants judge.
Shirley – tell me what being Jewish has to do with being lazy. What a biggoted, small-minded comment. There is a special place in HE– for people like you.
You guys (mostly) are a bunch of boneheads. You’re missing the whole point of Starbucks handing out items at a temperature that would cause THIRD degree burns:
Third-degree (full thickness) burns
Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis and dermis. Third-degree burns may also damage the underlying bones, muscles, and tendons. The burn site appears white or charred. There is no sensation in the area since the nerve endings are destroyed.
I drink tea; there’s no reason for tea to EVER be a temperature that destroy nerve endings and cause me to have to have a skin graft. It’s in a cup that keeps it warm; no need to go overboard.
This isn’t about him spilling the tea; it’s about Starbuck’s having enough sense to set a reasonable and consistent temperature for its products.
You gotta hand it to him; he found a niche market in the tort world — not just “hot” anymore like the McDonald lawsuits — now it’s a loose lid — pretty soon they’ll have child proof coffee cups!
I drove to McD’s one morning while my wife and I were working on a do-it-youself project in our house and of course the coffee spilled in my lap on the way home. I had a case of red b_lls. When I got home, my wife helped me out of my clothes, then helped herself out of her clothes and we had a great day working on our d.i.y project (with several interruptions, of course). I think I owe McD’s some money for the fond memories………
7-11 has the best disposable coffee cups/lids I’ve seen. Also, the C/S makes his/her own coffee, so the respons. lies in their own hand(s). No pun intended… Also, the $ Starbucks charges, they should have a better container. I remarked it once to a server & she said that they’re working on it. That was around 3 years ago. Now, it serves them right; even though the dude who’s suing is a jerk.
my 2 year old son dumped my coffee cup on his chest and it peeled the skin (I had turned away for just a few seconds to help his little brother) He fully recovered.
I can’t imagine getting 3rd degree burns from a hot liquid..is that possible? How can it char skin unless it burst into flame. When’s the last time you had a fire start from hot water? Water will evaporate before ignition temperature is reached. But what really bothers me is that there is some attorney looking for a settlement. I would first file a counter claim, not only does this appear frivolous but a deliberate attempt to sue, knowing that no real “harm” has been done. I’d like to see the medical records first…
Come on! Starbucks is selling a beverage at a temperature that is to hot to consume? How can the consumer miss that? Whoever orders cold tea? Maybe iced tea, but cold? or room temp or tepid? I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it. How hard can that be? I’d bet that this idiot would sue for burning himself on his red-hot stove because the stove was too hot to touch, correc? and why should a company sell a product like that? (sarcasm intended).
I work for starbucks (paying my way for school), and I’ve been burned several times. I’ve had the shuttle water (the water we use for the tea) poured directly on my hand several times, yes it does hurt, it does get sore, but it doesn’t cause third degree burn.
When we put the lid on it’s secure, if it isn’t you can tell because it comes off when you pick it up. Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence. Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people. Just because you did something stupid doesnt’t mean someone else should have to pay for it
Just for a few of you, I wanted to point out a few detail about the McDonalds case that you may find interesting.
The McDonalds coffee served at the time of the case was in a styrofoam cup. What caused the liquid to leave the container was not a spill, but rather the styrofoam itself melted. Styrofoam melts at approximately 250 degrees. The cup melted into 2 parts and the coffee was spilled on the clmt.
Third degree burns can happen when you the human skin is exposed to temperatures as low as approx 170 degrees for as little as one second.
McDonalds had been warned several times in the past concerning the unsafe condition of serving that hot of a product in that kind of container.
The original claim amount was reduced significantly upon appeal.
My point being that a company knowingly and willfully continued to do something they had been warned about in the past that directly led to bodily injury to one of its patrons, and you people sit back here and claim it is a frivilous lawsuit. I think not.
I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.
Recently I ordered tea at Starbucks & as is my custom because I like my tea this way, I put sugar and cold milk/half&half in and stirred before taking my first sip. I took my very first small sip & sustained noticeable burns in my mouth that lasted almost a week- from one sip. I can only imagine how bad it would have been without the added cold milk or if I taken a larger sip- not to mention spilling it. This tea was DAMN hot & I have alerted Starbucks of the problem. This is not frivolous folks- its a very real problem & Starbucks should have more concern for its customers’ and employees’ safety. I have had tea that was a bit too hot before, but again Starbucks tea is too damn hot.
McDonald’s fixed their problem and there is no reason Starbucks should not do the same. Yes, of course there is a consumption of risk with any hot product- but this is over the top.
I can correct you by your own experience probably- have you ever felt how hot steam is when cooking & draining pasta or pouring large quantities of hot liquid, or burned the roof of your mouth with cheese from scalding hot liquid. It is not only fire which causes burns.
“I drink tea; there’s no reason for tea to EVER be a temperature that destroy nerve endings and cause me to have to have a skin graft. It’s in a cup that keeps it warm; no need to go overboard.
This isn’t about him spilling the tea; it’s about Starbuck’s having enough sense to set a reasonable and consistent temperature for its products.”
OMG- Thank you and Amen for stating this fact. If home coffee and tea brew machine manufacturers have to comply with consumer safety- Starbucks and other companies should have to as well.
In the long run, it would save Starbucks money in energy costs, and increase employee productivity due to not having to stop to deal with burns (that the employee on here confirmed happens).
“I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it.”
This is a key statement, because in reality, you should not HAVE to do this. When the product is given to you, it should be delivered and in the form of a product ready for immediate consumption as all food products typically are.
“wait a while before I taste it” is extremely subjective and there can easily be a set safety standard (a safe temperature that the product is delivered) so that people would not have to wait a subjective amount of time & actually risk some form of injury from merely sipping- and yes Starbucks tea is this hot as I recently experienced, even after “waiting a while”. This is about quality control and consumer/employee safety.
“Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence”
Bull! I have never spilled Starbucks coffee or tea on myself, but I have had MANY of their crappy lids come off, especially with the wasteful policy of using multiple cups to mitigate their TOO HOT products- they KNOW this is a problem.
“Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people.”
Writing ‘caution’ is not a justifiable defense to negligent behavior on behalf of a company for many reasons:
1. The customer may not see it.
2. The customer may be blind.
3. The customer may not read the language the text is printed in (ex.tourists & other non-native speakers, dyslexic people)
4. The customer may not be able to read (ex. illiterate)- 14% of U.S. adults according to most recent statistics.
5. Caution signs are not a justifiable defense, any more than those silly safety ‘waivers’ people are forced to sign before doing recreational activites- they are simply designed to fool ignorant customers into believing they have no right to sue & the company has no liability or duty to the safety of customers. Untrue!
“Just because you did something stupid doesn’t mean someone else should have to pay for it”
Kinda like your stupidity of getting burned multiple times, by your own admission right? You are making a wide-ranging assumption that the customer is at fault for getting burned, when it would not be a problem for the customer (nor you) if the liquid was at a safe temperature.
“I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.”
Thank you for posting this piece of common sense! It seems the knee-jerk & thoughtless(lack of critical examination of the facts) reactions to cases like these seem to be the norm on here.
I disagree with your assertion that the insurance industry is for the protection of people- more and more it is an industry that seeks ways to NOT protect people & weasel out of paying money consumers are due, even though consumers pay monthly/yearly premiums & deductibles.
Each morning I get my large coffee at the golden arches and no matter how I hold the cup I end up with coffee on my hand, briefcase or shoes. I didn’t realize that was potentially my retirement fund. Seriously, I would love to see someone invent a cup for these places that didn’t fold up or leak. It seems to me that these cups become cheaper and more flimsy all the time. Room out there for you inventors to make some big bucks.
If you squeeze a hot beverage container in the middle, the lid pops off.
Man has no common sense.
What the heck is he suing for? Lack of consortium?
I missed the Consortium reference the first time and had to go back to re-read the story. Nice one!
I’m starting to think everyone needs to sell hot beverages in “sippy cups”. Obviously theres way to many coffee and tea drinkers out there with the intelligence of 2 year olds.
Guess what… it’s hot tea… it’s, reapeat after me, HOT. That’s how you odered it. If it was luke-warm tea you would complain to the barista and scream that you wanted your $8 mocha-choca-chai tea frappy with skinny milk, extra dry, and hot.
Guess it pays to be ambidextrous.
Another fun lawsuit to add to our everyday live’s..
To make things more interesting, I think that Starbucks should file a
countersuit against the claimant for emotional damages…lol!
Agree with your comments and loved the consortium reference.
Since NJ is one of if not the most litigious states in the country you could see this one coming. Most people have the common sense to check the lid and make sure it’s secure before leaving the store. I’d also be willing to bet this moron grasped it at the top of the cup (the weakest point) and it “popped” the lif off. With a name like Antonio Couso I’d bet he belongs to some trade union, probably cement. They’re some of the worst when it comes to looking to sue somebody. I wonder what his co-workers would say if they knew he’s a girlie man who drinks tea?
Another doofus warning on the cup….”The lid may pop off if not put on properly”. Good call on the loss of consortium! LOL.
Correct me if im wrong, but isn’t third degree burn when the skin actually gets charred and burns off in flakes of ash? I’m not a doctor so I could be wrong.
Even though this is a frivolous law suit, I love seeing starbucks get sued. Not only does their coffee suck @ss, it’s WAY over priced. Burger King has better Coffee.
I also don’t think this guy was a tradesman. when’s the last time you saw a construction worker walk out of starbucks? They have more common sense than to spend $5 on a small up of caramel vermin marsupial latte.
Here’s an idea: take responsibility for your own life. Realize that some loss and difficulties can occur. Some are unavoidable, some aren’t. If you injure yourself due to your own negligence, get over it and learn from the experience.
Of course, if too many people did the above, then we wouldn’t have low-lying, scum seeking, bottom feeding snakes…oops! I mean lawyers, politicians and government bureaucrats.
how can these jokers get away with this?
Poor wanker hurt more than his feelings.
I happen to agree with other commenters that Starbuck’s coffees/teas are overpriced and overrated. Nevertheless, it disgusts me that someone would try to collect from a big-business entity because it may have what plaintiffs’ lawyers refer to as “deep pockets”, over a spilled hot-beverage incident. Betcha this guy’s lawyer wouldn’t have accepted his case if it involved a tiny independent local coffee shop rather than a major retailer . . . (at least not on a contingent fee basis).
I hope Starbucks and their insurers don’t cave in and settle with this guy just to make him go away. He should have to prove his case in court. If he wins, so be it. If not, his loss may discourage other opportunists from filing similar lawsuits.
Very easily. Being born in the same mud hole with personal injury attorneys, Judges apparently put their brains on the shelf and blindly allow any and all complaints, regardless of how silly, stupid, frivolous, or groundless to be filed and gum up the court docket. They will never do anything to prevent their former colleagues from having a shot at making some money. A major flaw in our legal system is that it doesn’t allow for common sense. Lady Justice will always be “blind”. In far too many instances she’s also deaf and dumb.
This one time, in high school…my uber brilliant, top 10% of her class, friend of mine and i went to a local coffee house and got our MEDIUM double mocha chocha lattes. She went to get a lid for hers but couldn’t find the size so she grabbed a lid for the LARGE cups. Clearly the company was negligent for not providing all “safety” materials. and why on earth should we have bothered to ask for a smaller lid…?
anywho… One gulp and that drink was ALL OVER her chest. no burns, no pain, just a ruined polo from the local neighborhood TJ Max and tears of laughter from her ever sympathetic friend.
I think the only stupid thing about that day was not suing the coffee house. We could have had our college educations paid for…her for burned boobies and me for the emotional damage of seeing my friend burn her boobies.
ha!
This one time, in high school…my uber brilliant, top 10% of her class, friend of mine and i went to a local coffee house and got our MEDIUM double mocha chocha lattes. She went to get a lid for hers but couldn’t find the size so she grabbed a lid for the LARGE cups. Clearly the company was negligent for not providing all “safety” materials. and why on earth should we have bothered to ask for a smaller lid…?
anywho… One gulp and that drink was ALL OVER her chest. no burns, no pain, just a ruined polo from the local neighborhood TJ Max and tears of laughter from her ever sympathetic friend.
I think the only stupid thing about that day was not suing the coffee house. We could have had our college educations paid for…her for burned boobies and me for the emotional damage of seeing my friend burn her boobies.
ha!
I don’t understand anyone buying Starbuck’s products, but there are plenty that do. Whether it is Starbucks or McDonald’s the consumer should have the sense to make sure the lid is secure and
use caution when picking up a hot liquid.
Stupidity clause is in effect here.
I hate to belabor the obvious, but no one has mentioned the big McDonald’s coffee fiasco out of New Mexico where the woman dumped her hot coffee in her lap. She won over $600k from a jury of her (our?) peers simply because the judge allowed the plaintiff’s lawyer to put on evidence of the total income earned by McDonald’s on hot coffee over the course of one year. The award was a %age of that figure. Of course a bright(er) judge gave McDonald’s a remittitur which dropped the award down to something like $200k, but nevertheless, that case went the full route thru the courts with that dimbulb result. Ridiculous.
Judges don’t have the stones to limit irrelevant testimony and exhibits and juries are often too stupid to follow the bouncing ball. We have to remember this case was in NM and at the risk of being called a racist, what were the last names of the plaintiff and the jurors?
Don’t go there! Don’t whine, complain, etc. ….Just don’t go there!!!
Haven’t read the posts yet but yet again here is your typical entitlement ***** suing a deep pocket for free money based up all lack of personal responsibility and accountibility. i hope starbucks drags this out and sues this P. of S. into the gound.
Or can we just keep them from reproducing?
We whiners don’t go there, why would we. Never have! Still have a right to an opinion. Drink your heart out at Starbucks, see if we care. Just make sure your lid is securely fastened.
tea business and let government provide our coffee and tea. Those nasty private coffee providers have been screwing voters for years by serving hot drinks that burn citizens indescriminately!!!!
We will never get hot/medium/tepid drinks at the right temperature and the coffee providers are making millions for their CEO’s off the backs/tongues/palates of taxpayers. Time for government coffee kiosks to solve our liquid temperature problems once and for all. Oh, and while we’re at it, lets governmentalize insurance too.
Kramer blazed this trail in a Seinfeld episode. This appears to be a copycat coffee spilling and lawsuit!
I don’t go there either and I really wasn’t thinking about you when I posted under “cure…”. It’s the people that do go there & whine about it. They should vote with their feet & wallets.
You know… embarassing story but when I was a very young man I was eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of my grandmother’s TV from one of those flimsy TV trays every grandmother had back in the day.
Well, you can see where this is going…
I spilled the soup into my lap. My legs were badly scarred (and remained that way until highschool – at least).
Guess who I sued? My grandmother? Campbells soup? K-Mart (where the TV trays probably came from)? Whatever low-rent company made the TV trays?
Noone. Nope… I didn’t need a PI attorney, didn’t need an accountant and a Brink’s truck.
I think I got a bowl of ice cream as a pay-off from my grandmother to not tell my mom. That’s all this guy deserves… a hug and a bowl of ice cream from the Starbucks people.
I am not a big fan of Starbucks, but as long as we have attorneys that take these cases and judges that award them, they will be around! After all, they make money off of these cases.
Gill-
This may be the best post ever in the history of the IJ’s comment area.
Dear Nobody Important: while not a totally bad idea, it treats the symptom and not the cause. You can’t “idiot proof” everything in the world. Why is it so important to have coffee while driving a car? It’s dangerous and as you point out, it always spills. There’s nothing wrong with the current cups as long as you don’g grab them around the top. That’s the weakest point and it causees the cup to collapse. When you pick it up at the middle or lower there’s no probelm. Regardles of the cup, there are those idiots who will find a way to spill it. Retailers contingue to play this checker game with consumers. It would serve people right if they were required to sign a waiver of liability and acknowledge an assumption of risk for any hotl liquit.
Nobody important, you may have a law suite! MD should have something that will not spill on you!
You know, they don’t even offer lids for the coffee in my office. Every couple of days or so, I will splash a little on my hand on the way back to my office. (Ever notice the coffee always seems to spill toward your hand, not away from it?)
Anyway, I just realized that all I have to do is sue our cafeteria vendor and I won’t have to worry about the lack of growth in my 401K!
What a jerk. Check the lid yourself!!
I mean really. Starbucks purposely made his tea too hot just so he would get burned and suffer… I just know it!
Next week he will sue because the tea was too cold..
come on Goldilocks get over yourself. Did he not THINK to check the lid before picking it up? It’s called common sense, he should try using it sometime.
I seriously doubt this claims of 3rd Degree Burns from hot tea on your HAND. Maybe your privates. . .
I totally agree with you. I was just pointing out that there is significant room for improvement in the cups. The ones I get leak no matter how or where you hold them. If I had a problem with being burnt by this leakage I wouldn’t buy the coffee. I accept the horrible danger inherent in my cup of caffiene in the morning.
I just buy brown suits and shoes. American ingenuity.
Is this customer too LAZY to tighten his own cup top??? [he MUST be Jewish!]
SO WHAT if he spilled his tea and the top was on loose. He COULD’VE tightened it….DUH…………….
[Customer might have been hard up for $$$].
Wait until you hear my next great idea – governmentalize dry cleaning. Those nasty dry cleaners have been losing trousers hither and thither, and creating
unseemly profits for drycleaning CEO’s.
Its high time we let government do our dry cleaning and bear the societal costs of drycleaning through our tax structure. It’s not my fault there’s hot sauce on my cargo shorts. That kind of catastrophe could afflict anyone.
Anyone remember the fold out handles that used to be on paper cups?? Maybe they could go back to those and have a completely closed lid with a straw that you have to suck on to get at the contents. It could be filled like syringe bottles & you could hold it in your teeth!
….or something like that. Nah, this yahoo would probably find a way to defeat it anyway & whine to the suit pants judge.
Shirley – tell me what being Jewish has to do with being lazy. What a biggoted, small-minded comment. There is a special place in HE– for people like you.
You guys (mostly) are a bunch of boneheads. You’re missing the whole point of Starbucks handing out items at a temperature that would cause THIRD degree burns:
Third-degree (full thickness) burns
Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis and dermis. Third-degree burns may also damage the underlying bones, muscles, and tendons. The burn site appears white or charred. There is no sensation in the area since the nerve endings are destroyed.
I drink tea; there’s no reason for tea to EVER be a temperature that destroy nerve endings and cause me to have to have a skin graft. It’s in a cup that keeps it warm; no need to go overboard.
This isn’t about him spilling the tea; it’s about Starbuck’s having enough sense to set a reasonable and consistent temperature for its products.
You gotta hand it to him; he found a niche market in the tort world — not just “hot” anymore like the McDonald lawsuits — now it’s a loose lid — pretty soon they’ll have child proof coffee cups!
I drove to McD’s one morning while my wife and I were working on a do-it-youself project in our house and of course the coffee spilled in my lap on the way home. I had a case of red b_lls. When I got home, my wife helped me out of my clothes, then helped herself out of her clothes and we had a great day working on our d.i.y project (with several interruptions, of course). I think I owe McD’s some money for the fond memories………
7-11 has the best disposable coffee cups/lids I’ve seen. Also, the C/S makes his/her own coffee, so the respons. lies in their own hand(s). No pun intended… Also, the $ Starbucks charges, they should have a better container. I remarked it once to a server & she said that they’re working on it. That was around 3 years ago. Now, it serves them right; even though the dude who’s suing is a jerk.
Perhaps some of the people posting to this site should read another story in today’s (8/6/07) IJ.
I hardly think the tea caused third degree burns.
my 2 year old son dumped my coffee cup on his chest and it peeled the skin (I had turned away for just a few seconds to help his little brother) He fully recovered.
I doubt your son will sue you for negligence. When will these frivolous lawsuits end so the courts are free for the real cases.
you must be on wacky tobaccy – it’s america – the land of the lawsuits (another name/way for achieving the american dream)
I can’t imagine getting 3rd degree burns from a hot liquid..is that possible? How can it char skin unless it burst into flame. When’s the last time you had a fire start from hot water? Water will evaporate before ignition temperature is reached. But what really bothers me is that there is some attorney looking for a settlement. I would first file a counter claim, not only does this appear frivolous but a deliberate attempt to sue, knowing that no real “harm” has been done. I’d like to see the medical records first…
Come on! Starbucks is selling a beverage at a temperature that is to hot to consume? How can the consumer miss that? Whoever orders cold tea? Maybe iced tea, but cold? or room temp or tepid? I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it. How hard can that be? I’d bet that this idiot would sue for burning himself on his red-hot stove because the stove was too hot to touch, correc? and why should a company sell a product like that? (sarcasm intended).
I work for starbucks (paying my way for school), and I’ve been burned several times. I’ve had the shuttle water (the water we use for the tea) poured directly on my hand several times, yes it does hurt, it does get sore, but it doesn’t cause third degree burn.
When we put the lid on it’s secure, if it isn’t you can tell because it comes off when you pick it up. Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence. Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people. Just because you did something stupid doesnt’t mean someone else should have to pay for it
Just for a few of you, I wanted to point out a few detail about the McDonalds case that you may find interesting.
The McDonalds coffee served at the time of the case was in a styrofoam cup. What caused the liquid to leave the container was not a spill, but rather the styrofoam itself melted. Styrofoam melts at approximately 250 degrees. The cup melted into 2 parts and the coffee was spilled on the clmt.
Third degree burns can happen when you the human skin is exposed to temperatures as low as approx 170 degrees for as little as one second.
McDonalds had been warned several times in the past concerning the unsafe condition of serving that hot of a product in that kind of container.
The original claim amount was reduced significantly upon appeal.
My point being that a company knowingly and willfully continued to do something they had been warned about in the past that directly led to bodily injury to one of its patrons, and you people sit back here and claim it is a frivilous lawsuit. I think not.
I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.
Recently I ordered tea at Starbucks & as is my custom because I like my tea this way, I put sugar and cold milk/half&half in and stirred before taking my first sip. I took my very first small sip & sustained noticeable burns in my mouth that lasted almost a week- from one sip. I can only imagine how bad it would have been without the added cold milk or if I taken a larger sip- not to mention spilling it. This tea was DAMN hot & I have alerted Starbucks of the problem. This is not frivolous folks- its a very real problem & Starbucks should have more concern for its customers’ and employees’ safety. I have had tea that was a bit too hot before, but again Starbucks tea is too damn hot.
McDonald’s fixed their problem and there is no reason Starbucks should not do the same. Yes, of course there is a consumption of risk with any hot product- but this is over the top.
I can correct you by your own experience probably- have you ever felt how hot steam is when cooking & draining pasta or pouring large quantities of hot liquid, or burned the roof of your mouth with cheese from scalding hot liquid. It is not only fire which causes burns.
“I drink tea; there’s no reason for tea to EVER be a temperature that destroy nerve endings and cause me to have to have a skin graft. It’s in a cup that keeps it warm; no need to go overboard.
This isn’t about him spilling the tea; it’s about Starbuck’s having enough sense to set a reasonable and consistent temperature for its products.”
OMG- Thank you and Amen for stating this fact. If home coffee and tea brew machine manufacturers have to comply with consumer safety- Starbucks and other companies should have to as well.
In the long run, it would save Starbucks money in energy costs, and increase employee productivity due to not having to stop to deal with burns (that the employee on here confirmed happens).
“I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it.”
This is a key statement, because in reality, you should not HAVE to do this. When the product is given to you, it should be delivered and in the form of a product ready for immediate consumption as all food products typically are.
“wait a while before I taste it” is extremely subjective and there can easily be a set safety standard (a safe temperature that the product is delivered) so that people would not have to wait a subjective amount of time & actually risk some form of injury from merely sipping- and yes Starbucks tea is this hot as I recently experienced, even after “waiting a while”. This is about quality control and consumer/employee safety.
“Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence”
Bull! I have never spilled Starbucks coffee or tea on myself, but I have had MANY of their crappy lids come off, especially with the wasteful policy of using multiple cups to mitigate their TOO HOT products- they KNOW this is a problem.
“Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people.”
Writing ‘caution’ is not a justifiable defense to negligent behavior on behalf of a company for many reasons:
1. The customer may not see it.
2. The customer may be blind.
3. The customer may not read the language the text is printed in (ex.tourists & other non-native speakers, dyslexic people)
4. The customer may not be able to read (ex. illiterate)- 14% of U.S. adults according to most recent statistics.
5. Caution signs are not a justifiable defense, any more than those silly safety ‘waivers’ people are forced to sign before doing recreational activites- they are simply designed to fool ignorant customers into believing they have no right to sue & the company has no liability or duty to the safety of customers. Untrue!
“Just because you did something stupid doesn’t mean someone else should have to pay for it”
Kinda like your stupidity of getting burned multiple times, by your own admission right? You are making a wide-ranging assumption that the customer is at fault for getting burned, when it would not be a problem for the customer (nor you) if the liquid was at a safe temperature.
“I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.”
Thank you for posting this piece of common sense! It seems the knee-jerk & thoughtless(lack of critical examination of the facts) reactions to cases like these seem to be the norm on here.
I disagree with your assertion that the insurance industry is for the protection of people- more and more it is an industry that seeks ways to NOT protect people & weasel out of paying money consumers are due, even though consumers pay monthly/yearly premiums & deductibles.