Woman Sues Starbucks For $2 Million Over Drink Allegedly Tainted With Chemicals

(ronnyg)

A Utah woman has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Starbucks and several employees claiming she was given a drink that contained a cleaning solution.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the woman filed the suit after she suffered severe damage to her esophagus at a Utah Starbucks in July 2012.

According to the lawsuit, the woman experienced severe nerve damage and chronic burning mouth pain after ingesting Urnex, a speciality cleaning product for coffee and espresso equipment.

The suit, which names Starbucks and John Does one through five as defendants, alleges the company was negligent in more than one way and failed to adequately train workers.

As for the employees, the suit claims they created a dangerous situation and failed to remedy it, and knew or should have known of the dangerous condition but failed to take adequate steps to prevent injury to customers.

The woman, who is seeking $2 million in damages, contends that the incident has already cost her $186,000 in medical expenses, wage loss and household expenses.

A spokesperson for Starbucks tells the Tribune that the company takes the lawsuit very seriously.

“The safety of our customers is our highest priority,” Laurel Harper, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said Tuesday. “We take this obligation seriously and are investigating [the customer’s] claims.”

Utahn claims her Starbucks coffee was tainted with cleaning solution [The Salt Lake Tribune]