What I Want

Right now all I want it for people to take personal responsibility for their actions. I'm sorry for her pain - really. And yes the drive through worker should have affixed the lid more carefully. What about checking the lid as you receive it because we all know about the McDonalds lawsuit. $250,000 - C'mon!!!!! Can you say "Frivolous Lawsuit". I knew you could.

Knoxville News Sentinel
Woman sues Starbucks; says scalding coffee, unattached lid caused disfigurement
Jordan Triplett went for a morning pick-me-up from Starbucks and wound up with first-degree burns.

Now, she's suing the Seattle-based coffee house empire for $250,000 in a Knox County Circuit Court lawsuit that blames Triplett's burns on a barista's lid snafu.

"This case involved real and significant injuries, unlike other cases where individuals have sought compensation from similar vendors," attorney Gregory P. Isaacs said. A lawsuit over McDonald's coffee that burned a woman in the 1990s spurred national debate over the need for tort reform.

"It's significant to note Ms. Triplett attempted to resolve this in a reasonable fashion without litigation and received no response," Isaacs said.

A Starbucks representative did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that the 23-year-old Triplett drove to a Starbucks on Kingston Pike on July 13 and bought coffee via the store's drive-through window. The lawsuit is silent on what Triplett ordered.

Whatever she ordered, she knew right away it was hot, the lawsuit states. There is your first clue to not sit it in your lap!

"She experienced extreme heat radiating through the cup and protective cardboard sleeve," Isaacs wrote. "(She) balanced the extremely hot cup of coffee on her thigh with her hand on top of the cup as she pulled away from the window and negotiated a turn onto the roadway." And to me that is all there is. Extreme heat radiating through the cup. Hint Hint Hint (get it off your leg). Since she apparently knew it was "extremely" hot then she should have put it into a cup holder. And of course no mention of the fact that she wasn't concentrating on her driving.

Once on Kingston Pike, Triplett noticed "the lid of the coffee container was loose and not affixed properly," the lawsuit states.

"Before Triplett could achieve a better grasp upon the cup, the lid dislodged from the cup, thereby causing scalding coffee to spill and splash onto (her) lap, right thigh and right hand," the lawsuit states. Should have taken care of that before she started to drive. Parking lot would have been a good place.

The coffee soaked through her denim jeans, causing her to cry out in severe pain, according to the lawsuit.

She drove to a nearby friend's house and disrobed.

"She discovered that she had severe blisters and burns on her hand, inner thigh and vaginal area," the lawsuit states. Through Jeans and underwear? Ok, so I'm a tad skeptical.

A doctor later classified the injuries as first- and second-degree burns, Isaacs wrote. She racked up hefty medical bills and suffered "severe and permanent injuries (and) cosmetic impairment, scarring and disfigurement" as a result of the burns, the lawsuit alleges.

"Triplett immediately contacted the Starbucks franchise where she purchased the scalding coffee to inform them of the incident and to request that the employees be more careful in attaching the lids to the container and monitor the temperature of the coffee," the lawsuit states. "The Starbucks agent was incredibly unresponsive."

She later filed a complaint with the firm's corporate headquarters that netted her a gift certificate offer instead of restitution for her medical bills, according to the lawsuit. So her medical bills for burns were $250,000. She saw lawsuit immediately and went to the doctor I bet. Regular people would have put burn cream on it and a large bandaid and moved on. Maybe even called in sick if the burn was bad enough. I wish I could be on that jury!!! I'd give her $20 bucks for cream and the bandaid.