Woman’s suit blames Starbucks’ hot tea for burns, dog’s death

A Colorado woman has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, claiming an employee improperly served a cup of hot tea at a drivethrough window — causing the liquid to spill, burning her and ultimately killing her dog, who was also in the car at the time.

Deanna Salas-Solano is seeking more than $75,000 in damages from the global coffee chain, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

The incident allegedly occurred in September 2015, when Salas-Solano visited the drive-through of a Denver Starbucks and ordered a “Venti”-size hot tea. She did not specify that she wanted her drink “extra hot,” the complaint states.

When a Starbucks employee handed the cup of tea to SalasSolano at the pickup window, its lid was not secured, it lacked a hot-cup sleeve, and it was not “double-cupped,” according to the lawsuit. The complaint also alleges that the temperature of the tea was “unreasonably hot.”

“Once Plaintiff received the cup of tea into her hands, the hot temperature of the cup began to burn her hands,” the complaint states. “Hot tea began to spill out of the cup through the unsecured lid and onto Plaintiff ’s body. The tea caused Plaintiff ’s clothing to melt. The tea caused severe burns to Plaintiff. Plaintiff immediately experienced intense pain including on her stomach, legs, and lap.”

Salas-Solano began screaming and writhing in pain — at which point her dog, Alexander, jumped into her lap and caused tea to spill onto him, according to the complaint. The dog was taken to an emergency veterinarian, the filing states, and he died from injuries caused by the hot tea.

Salas-Solano was taken to a hospital, where she was treated for severe burns and, the following day, underwent skin-graft surgery for “2% total body surface area second-degree burn injury to the abdomen and bilateral thighs,” according to the lawsuit. She has since reportedly suffered permanent scarring, loss of feeling and emotional distress, the suit states.

A Starbucks spokesman said the company denies the allegations and has video evidence to prove that the employee was not at fault.

“I think it goes without saying we’re certainly sympathetic to Ms. Salas-Solano and the injuries she sustained, and my heart goes out to her for the loss of her dog,” Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges told The Washington Post. “Having said that, we have video evidence that clearly contradicts the claims by her and actually believe they’re without merit. We don’t have any reason to believe that our partner [employee] was at fault in this.”