What happened to Michael Garcia? Details of Starbucks $50 million lawsuit settlement explained

Michael Garcia, a California delivery driver, won a $50 million lawsuit against Starbucks for negligence. A Los Angeles jury ruled in his favor on March 14, 2025.

According to the lawsuit claims, Michael Garcia had to undergo skin grafts and other medical procedures after he suffered severe burns on his genitals and thighs, after a Starbucks drink spilled on him at a California drive-through at the 1789 West Jefferson Blvd. store. He alleged that this happened moments after an employee of the coffeehouse company handed him a venti-sized tea on February 8, 2020

Michael Garcia’s lawyers claimed he suffered life-altering and permanent disfigurement. Meanwhile, the multimillion-dollar civil suit alleged that the Starbucks employee didn’t put the burning hot drink properly into the takeout tray, thus causing the accident. Starbucks has denied the claim and plans to appeal.

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Exploring further Michael Garcia versus Starbucks lawsuit

According to Michael Garcia’s lawsuit against Starbucks, the coffee giant breached its duty of care. As a result, a jury ruled in his favor and asked the company for the massive payout.

“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” Nick Rowley, one of Garcia’s attorneys shared in a statement with the Associated Press.

However, Starbucks has countered the jury ruling and expressed their wish to appeal.

“We sympathize with Mr. Garcia and the pain he has endured, but we believe the damages awarded are excessive. We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” a spokesperson shared in a statement with the outlet.

They further mentioned that Starbucks was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks. Earlier, the company argued that the plaintiff failed to exercise precaution and ordinary care on his own and his negligence and carelessness led to the accident and subsequent third-degree burns. Regardless, they made a $3 million pre-trial offer followed by a $30 million settlement.

While Michael Garcia initially agreed to the latter on the grounds that the company apologized to him and revised their safety protocols, Starbucks reportedly refused. Meanwhile, according to the Daily Journal, three of the jurors originally wanted the payout to be $125 million, as per Nick Rowley’s statement. However, they later agreed on $50 million.

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This is not the first time American food/ drink companies have faced similar burn-related lawsuits. Earlier, in the 1990s, a female customer of McDonald's was offered a payout of $3 million after a New Mexico jury ruled in her favor.

The woman suffered burns while trying to take the lid off a scorching cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through store. However, the judge presiding over the case later lowered the amount to an undisclosed sum, which was below $600,000, Associated Press reported.

However, in another 1990s case, a jury ruled in favor of McDonald’s after a suit accused the company of negligence after a child spilled coffee onto himself in Iowa, as per AP.

In January this year, a 19-year-old woman from Texas also got $2.8 million in damages after she suffered second-degree injuries from the BBQ sauce burns at San Antonio's Bill Miller Bar-B-Q restaurant. She sued the eatery over violation of hot food safety protocols.