Woman sues Starbucks after sustaining burns from incorrect coffee order

She is seeking up to $75,000 in damages

Woman sues Starbucks after sustaining burns from spilled coffee (Getty Images)

A woman has sued Starbucks after she reportedly sustained burns from spilling a coffee that was not the one she ordered.

Mary Simms filed the lawsuit on 19 August after the injury occurred on 14 April at a Starbucks drive-thru in Tomball, Texas, according to USAToday.

In the court documents, Simms alleged that she sustained the injury after she was informed by a Starbucks employee that she had been given the wrong coffee, at which point she stopped her car to hand it back.

According to the lawsuit, while Simms was handing the hot coffee back, the lid came off and the liquid spilled onto her lap, which reportedly left her with first- and second-degree burns.

“As a result of the spill, [Simms] sustained first and second-degree burns causing severe personal injuries and damages,” the suit said, according to the New York Post.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that the injury was due to Starbucks’ negligence, as Simms alleged that she should have been warned of the “unreasonably dangerous condition” that was created “by the failing lid, hot water and/or liquid of the coffee”.

“Defendant knew or should have known of the unreasonably dangerous condition created by the failing lid, hot water and/or liquid of the coffee, and Defendant neither corrected nor warned Plaintiff of the same,” the lawsuit said.

Simms is seeking up to $75,000 to cover her medical bills and lost wages, as well as “past and future loss of enjoyment of life,” Business Insider reported.

In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Starbucks said the company was aware of the lawsuit and was investigating, and that the coffee chain takes its “responsibility to provide a safe environment seriously”.

“We take our responsibility to provide a safe environment seriously, and our partners [employees] take great pride in ensuring our beverages are crafted with care and delivered to customers safely,” the spokesperson said.

This is not the first time that an individual has sued a chain restaurant over burns sustained from spilled coffee, as Stella Liebeck previously sued McDonald’s after she suffered third-degree burns from a hot beverage.

Starbucks has also been sued for burns sustained from its coffee, as a woman from Florida sued the coffee chain in 2017 and was awarded $100,000 for her injuries after she was left severely burned when her coffee cup’s lid came off.

The Independent has contacted Starbucks for comment.