North Carolina

TexasTowelie

(117,527 posts) Mon May 11, 2015, 09:15 PM May 2015

Starbucks Will Not Have to Pay Cop for Hot Coffee Spill

A jury has found that Starbucks should not be forced to pay for the medical fees and emotional suffering that a police officer claimed he allegedly endured after accidentally spilling a cup of the chain's hot coffee on his lap.

The verdict was read in the North Carolina court this morning after both sides agreed that they would be willing to accept the verdict if it were reached by a majority of the jurors and not necessarily all of them, ABC News affiliate WTVD reports.

Lt. Matthew Kohr suffered third degree burns when he said that the lid on his coffee popped off and the paper cup allegedly crumbled.

He and his wife, Melanie Kohr, were suing the coffee giant for $750,000, citing his medical expenses that came from a surgery to remove part of his intestine.

Kohr said he suffered from Chrons' disease before the accident and that the burn caused a massive flare.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/starbucks-pay-cop-hot-coffee-spill/story?id=30957423

8 replies

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Starbucks Will Not Have to Pay Cop for Hot Coffee Spill (Original Post) TexasTowelie May 2015 OP

It's really sad his Chrohn's flared, elleng May 2015 #1

They did misspell it in the article, didn't they? TexasTowelie May 2015 #2

Yes, and I foolishly followed them! elleng May 2015 #3

I agree. Free coffee too. yeoman6987 May 2015 #4

It's possible jury was not permitted to consider or discuss insurance. elleng May 2015 #6

Good point. yeoman6987 May 2015 #7

sadly it doesn't work like that; the insurance company gets reimbursed first. unblock May 2015 #8

Seems to be different from the NM case Warpy May 2015 #5

elleng

(136,826 posts)

1. It's really sad his Chrohn's flared,

Reply to TexasTowelie (Original post)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:19 PM

May 2015

but I agree with the jury's decision.

TexasTowelie

(117,527 posts)

2. They did misspell it in the article, didn't they?

Reply to elleng (Reply #1)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:24 PM

May 2015

It is Crohn's, not Chron's.

elleng

(136,826 posts)

3. Yes, and I foolishly followed them!

Reply to TexasTowelie (Reply #2)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:31 PM

May 2015

BACK to the best rule: The first answer that comes to mind is CORRECT!!!

yeoman6987

(14,449 posts)

4. I agree. Free coffee too.

Reply to elleng (Reply #1)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:43 PM

May 2015

If on the jury, I might have gone as far to pay what insurance didn't.

elleng

(136,826 posts)

6. It's possible jury was not permitted to consider or discuss insurance.

Reply to yeoman6987 (Reply #4)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:46 PM

May 2015

yeoman6987

(14,449 posts)

7. Good point.

Reply to elleng (Reply #6)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:51 PM

May 2015

unblock

(54,242 posts)

8. sadly it doesn't work like that; the insurance company gets reimbursed first.

Reply to yeoman6987 (Reply #4)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:51 PM

May 2015

Warpy

(113,131 posts)

5. Seems to be different from the NM case

Reply to TexasTowelie (Original post)

Mon May 11, 2015, 09:44 PM

May 2015

In that case, the restaurant had been cited several times for serving their coffee too hot and had failed to lower the temperature.

In addition, Kohr didn't use the Starbuck's paper cup insert as directed, in a hard plastic outer sleeve. The cup was never meant to be stand-alone.

Still, extensive third degree burns in a younger person mean that Starbuck's needs to turn the heat down a bit, too.

The flare is not surprising since Crohn's is exacerbated by stress, but he'd have a hard time proving the burns were his only stressor.

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