Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea

Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (Full Version)

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tazzygirl -> Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/4/2010 11:50:34 PM)
I almost posted this under random stupidity, except a child got hurt. A Brooklyn mother is suing over a cup of scalding tea that she claims severely burned her infant son at a Starbucks. Villona Maryash claims the tea was "improperly served" without a protective sleeve. Maryash's suit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday, stems from an incident last Oct. 9 at the Bensonhurst Starbucks. Her 5-month-old son, Arnold Glouchko, was next to her in a stroller. While she waited for the rest of her food order, she went to take a sip of the tea, she said. When she picked up the cup, it was so hot that she dropped it, and the contents spilled over her son, causing "serious injuries," said her lawyer, Martin Garfield. He said the tea should have been served on a tray and with an insulating sleeve. "This cup was improperly served, and that's the reason my client dropped it on her baby," he said. There was no immediate comment from Starbucks. In May a Manhattan customer sued Starbucks for serving him "unreasonably hot" tea in a container that was "not safe. He claimed he suffered "great physical pain and mental anguish." Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/ma_sues_bucks_in_tot_scalding_FffnGfcdFcUN5pvBVCkcUN?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=#ixzz0smvjBEsZ My only thought... who the hell holds a cup of hot anything over a baby?!?!

DCWoody -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/4/2010 11:56:32 PM)
It doesn't seem sensible to serve something hot enough to scald, for immediate human consumption.

myotherself -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 12:00:21 AM)
when people do stupid things that hurt the ones they love, the immediate reaction is to blame someone or something else to help salve their conscience. We live in a blame culture and a 'sue everything!' culture - this woman is just one more example of this. She is completely stupid. Full stop. Anyone with a child knows that you don't hold a cup of boiling liquid over an infant even for a millisecond, even if the liquid is in a mug with a lid. You just don't do it. Also, if the cup was too hot to hold and she dropped it, how come she didn't figure that out as soon as she put her hand on it to lift it up? If it's THAT hot, then surely it would have registered in her brain before she held the cup, then lifted it over her baby? I'm not saying this woman is a bad person, but boy, is she stupid and thoughtless.

MsLadySue -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 12:01:19 AM)
She probably figured if the hot coffee suit against McDonalds worked, why not try Starbucks, even though the stupidity was all on her shoulders.

tazzygirl -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 12:04:05 AM)
Tea is typically served at 125 degrees. Home hot water heaters are set to just below 120 degrees to prevent scalds. Any parent knows not to hold a cup of hot anything over a child. Was Starbucks wrong? Dont know, dont know how hot their water was. But the mother has the responsibility of the burns to her own child.

tazzygirl -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 12:05:53 AM)
It would be extremely hard to find Starbucks legally responsible for the injury to the infant. Some people just piss me off with their stupidity.

KatyLied -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 4:58:02 AM)
I find this ridiculous. Of course tea is hot. Perhaps the mother feels some guilt over not protecting her child adequately from her stupidity and is therefore suing in order to shift the blame.

splorff -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:14:40 AM)
The dumbest one I ever heard was the lady who sued the microwave oven manufacturer. You see, it should have had a warning on the appliance, pointing out that it was not suitable for drying your freshly bathed pooch in - Like maybe the screaming, yapping,yelping and scratching didn't make it immediately obvious..

DomImus -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:19:54 AM)
Maybe she found one of those 'no fee unless you win' attorneys whose practice is a little slow these days. If that's the case she has nothing to lose. One of the commenters at the end of the story noted that this happened back on 09 Oct 2009 and the suit is just being filed now. I thought that was peculiar, too. I don't visit Starbucks stores much (I do enjoy their coffee at home) but I can't ever recall the insulating sleeves being on the cup when served at the counter. I have always put them on myself at the cream and sugar station. This story reminds me of a quote from Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. When asked what he thought was the strangest thing he has ever seen he replied "That you need a license to drive a car but anyone can be a parent".

MissAsylum -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:34:54 AM)
#1- why the hell is she filling this now? #2- even if there was no insulating sleeve, she would have known it was too hot before she got a firm grip on it before it either left the counter or the barista's hand. #3- if you noticed there wasn't a sleeve on the cup, common sense would tell you to either a) ask the barista to put one one, or b) get one from the sugar/cream station before you picked it up. some even have them right next to the pick up area. and #4-like everybody eles said, why the hell would you hold something hot over an infant?!?

LaserKitty -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:40:53 AM)
hell, if something feels a bit too hot for me to hold, I wouldn't even hold it over my LAP, let alone a child... ETA: I wonder if this woman has ever been visited by CPS prior to the Oct. incident?

sirsholly -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:42:33 AM)
How did the tea get to her table? Did she carry it from the counter and not realize it was hot? The article said there was no tray, so if she carried it from the counter, it was in her bare hand. Was it served to her by an employee who did not burn their fingers or drop it when putting it on the table?

sirsholly -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:43:46 AM)
quote: I wonder if this woman has ever been visited by CPS prior to the Oct. incident? Maybe she needs money for an attorney...?

cadenas -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:45:13 AM)
The dog-in-microwave lawsuit is an urban legend. There are quite a few supposed variations of this myth - including one where a baby gets cooked in the microwave. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/microwavedpet.asp And the McDonalds lawsuit is also misrepresented. The lawsuit was real, but the case was different from how it is usually told. She was able to show that McDonalds thought it cheaper to settle hundreds of injury claims before hers, rather than fix the problem. McDonalds' own quality control engineer testified that their coffee indeed was too hot for human consumption (180 degrees, I believe), and that it was a deliberate corporate policy to require franchisees to keep coffee at that temperature. It has since been pointed out that Starbucks, too, served coffee at similar temperatures. So this new Starbucks lawsuit appears to have some merit. quote: ORIGINAL: splorff The dumbest one I ever heard was the lady who sued the microwave oven manufacturer. You see, it should have had a warning on the appliance, pointing out that it was not suitable for drying your freshly bathed pooch in - Like maybe the screaming, yapping,yelping and scratching didn't make it immediately obvious..

cadenas -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:48:44 AM)
Putting a lawsuit together takes time. Yes, there are some lawyers who will file lawsuits days after a high-profile accident, but that's usually more for propaganda than for anything else. It's very unlikely they have anything like enough evidence at that point. quote: ORIGINAL: MissAsylum #1- why the hell is she filling this now? #2- even if there was no insulating sleeve, she would have known it was too hot before she got a firm grip on it before it either left the counter or the barista's hand. #3- if you noticed there wasn't a sleeve on the cup, common sense would tell you to either a) ask the barista to put one one, or b) get one from the sugar/cream station before you picked it up. some even have them right next to the pick up area. and #4-like everybody eles said, why the hell would you hold something hot over an infant?!?

gedienstig -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 5:55:04 AM)
I almost supported her because I was like "who serves 125 degrees tea", but then I remember Celsuis and Kelvin [:@]. Well, I'm not supporting her now, but it's not clear she held the tea over the child's head. If it really was too hot, people make involuntary movements which could have caused her to throw the cup more rather than drop it straight down. You can't exactly drink your cup of tea 60+ inches away from your baby. There are still many other flaws in the story though, and I think people should just think before they act, since I have a feeling the situation could have been avoided here.

LadyEllen -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 6:02:33 AM)
I hope its a "no win, no fee" and she has taken out insurance for costs awarded against her, 'cause I cant see this getting anywhere. E

juliaoceania -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 6:32:49 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DCWoody It doesn't seem sensible to serve something hot enough to scald, for immediate human consumption. What is hot enough to scald a baby and what is hot enough to scald an adult is different

cadenas -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 8:38:10 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: tazzygirl Tea is typically served at 125 degrees. Home hot water heaters are set to just below 120 degrees to prevent scalds. Any parent knows not to hold a cup of hot anything over a child. Was Starbucks wrong? Dont know, dont know how hot their water was. But the mother has the responsibility of the burns to her own child. There were at least two previous lawsuits against Starbucks related to hot coffee. In one case, Starbucks spilled 200 degree coffee over the feet of a New York dancer, who subsequently had to give up ballet dancing. 200 degrees is near boiling, and will scald you within seconds.

DesFIP -> RE: Mother suing Starbucks over a "too" hot cup of tea (7/5/2010 8:44:56 AM)
Additionally in the McDonald's suit there had been previous citations by the Board of Health because of the high temperature the coffee was at. There are rules governing these sorts of things. If the Starbuck's deliberately also kept it above the legal limit, then they are liable. The fact that no one before got hurt is immaterial.

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