PhilosophyGenius
11-17-2006, 07:51 PM
Parents sue Starbucks over child's burns
By Diana Penner
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006611160497
A Hancock County couple have filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, accusing a Fishers store of serving scalding hot chocolate that seriously burned their little girl.
http://www.indystar.com/graphics/clear.gifhttp://www.indystar.com/graphics/clear.gif
Michael and Alexis Brennan filed the suit Tuesday in Marion Superior Court on behalf of their daughter, Rachel.
Rachel's age is not included in the lawsuit, but it says she was in a child restraint seat in the back seat of the family car Nov. 2, 2004, when Alexis Brennan went to the Starbucks at 116th Street and I-69.
Brennan ordered a child's hot chocolate with whipped cream and an adult hot chocolate without whipped cream at the drive-through. According to the lawsuit, Starbucks' policy is to serve child drinks at lower temperature than adult drinks to avoid kids getting burned.
Brennan handed her daughter the child drink, and as she pulled away from the window, it spilled into Rachel's lap.
The child was "screaming in pain," and her mother pulled over, got Rachel out and removed her clothes to find the "skin on Rachel's leg was falling off of her."
She suffered serious burns that required repeated medical attention and could require more medical attention, the lawsuit said. The parents are seeking unspecified damages.
"Starbucks Corporation takes seriously its obligation to provide a safe product to all our customers, and we are truly sympathetic to the Brennan incident that resulted in injuries to this customer's child," Indianapolis-based Borshoff, Johnson and Matthews, a public relations firm representing Starbucks, said in a written statement.
"The incident happened after the vehicle had pulled away from the drive-through window," the statement continued. "While Starbucks regrets this incident, we believe our store partners prepared and served the drink properly and that we are not responsible for the injuries."
A New Mexico woman won $125,000 in damages after being burned by McDonald's coffee in February 1994 while she was in her car.
By Diana Penner
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006611160497
A Hancock County couple have filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, accusing a Fishers store of serving scalding hot chocolate that seriously burned their little girl.
http://www.indystar.com/graphics/clear.gifhttp://www.indystar.com/graphics/clear.gif
Michael and Alexis Brennan filed the suit Tuesday in Marion Superior Court on behalf of their daughter, Rachel.
Rachel's age is not included in the lawsuit, but it says she was in a child restraint seat in the back seat of the family car Nov. 2, 2004, when Alexis Brennan went to the Starbucks at 116th Street and I-69.
Brennan ordered a child's hot chocolate with whipped cream and an adult hot chocolate without whipped cream at the drive-through. According to the lawsuit, Starbucks' policy is to serve child drinks at lower temperature than adult drinks to avoid kids getting burned.
Brennan handed her daughter the child drink, and as she pulled away from the window, it spilled into Rachel's lap.
The child was "screaming in pain," and her mother pulled over, got Rachel out and removed her clothes to find the "skin on Rachel's leg was falling off of her."
She suffered serious burns that required repeated medical attention and could require more medical attention, the lawsuit said. The parents are seeking unspecified damages.
"Starbucks Corporation takes seriously its obligation to provide a safe product to all our customers, and we are truly sympathetic to the Brennan incident that resulted in injuries to this customer's child," Indianapolis-based Borshoff, Johnson and Matthews, a public relations firm representing Starbucks, said in a written statement.
"The incident happened after the vehicle had pulled away from the drive-through window," the statement continued. "While Starbucks regrets this incident, we believe our store partners prepared and served the drink properly and that we are not responsible for the injuries."
A New Mexico woman won $125,000 in damages after being burned by McDonald's coffee in February 1994 while she was in her car.