TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A woman blames a two-cup configuration and the string of a tea bag for allowing her hot drink to burn her legs at Starbucks
Starbucks Coffee Company and a John Doe are facing a lawsuit filed by Elizabeth White filed Jan. 9 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court in Tampa, Fla. White is seeking more than $50,000 in damages for personal injuries sustained from a hot beverage she purchased at a Starbucks store located at 6184 N. US Highway 41, Apollo Beach.
White alleges that she suffered burn injuries after the hot contents of her honey citrus mint tea spilled onto her leg. The incident occurred on April 11, 2023, when she ordered the drink through the store's drive-thru service.
She claims that the beverage was improperly packaged using Starbucks' two-cup configuration for hot teas, which created a gap between the cups leading to spillage. It also says the string on the tea bag prevented the lid from sealing correctly.
Jordan Redavid of Fischer Redavid is representing White.
"Plaintiff was seriously injured and is seeking past and future non-economic damages for her injuries, burns, disfigurement, scarring, discoloration, neurological deficits, impairment, pain, suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience, humiliation, embarrassment, and the loss of ability to enjoy her life, which she has experienced in the past and/or will continue to experience in the future," the suit says.