Los Angeles, CA – A California state court jury found Starbucks liable on Wednesday for severe burns a Postmates driver suffered while picking up a drive-through order, and the full trial was webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.

The jury found Starbucks entirely responsible for plaintiff Michael Garcia’s injuries, assigning him no liability in the first phase of the bifurcated trial after 40 minutes of deliberation and setting up a second phase to determine damages next week to compensate for burns to his thighs and genitals. 

In a brief liability phase that only lasted two days, Garcia’s attorney Nick Rowley of Trial Lawyers for Justice told the Los Angeles County jury that the barista working the window failed to properly secure one of the hot drinks in the takeout container, however Starbucks unsuccessfully maintained the spill only occurred after Garcia had total physical control of the beverages.

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Rowley delivered a “hands on” opening statement with Garcia seated directly next to him, at times interacting with Garcia to recreate the act of handing a tray of drinks through a car window.

Rowley told jurors Starbucks had a documented corporate policy that drinks must be fully secured in a tray, and he said surveillance video from inside the drive-through clearly showed one of the three cups not fully placed in the container.

He also rejected arguments from Starbucks that having an unrestrained dog in the car contributed to Garcia’s injuries, stressing it wasn’t in violation of any local ordinance and that it shouldn’t affect how a Starbucks employee does their job.

“This young man did nothing to cause this to happen,” Rowley insisted. “Nothing at all.”

Representing Starbucks, Stephen Pelletier of Price Pelletier LLP disputed Rowley’s characterizing of the surveillance video, instead telling jurors that an accident reconstruction expert determined Garcia was in full control of the drinks when they spilled.

He argued Garcia had made similar orders countless times before, knew he would be holding scalding hot beverages, and should have taken the same care that he supposedly used every time prior.

Pelletier defended the training Starbucks employees undergo, and he said their actions that day all complied with those standards.

“In this case, the handoff was successful and it must be evaluated from the point where the drinks are moved from the counter all the way to point where the drink spilled,” Pelletier explained.

The trial is taking place before Judge Frederick Shaller.

The case is captioned Michael Garcia v. Starbucks Corporation, case number 20STCV10214 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The wreck happened in the California Heights neighborhood of Long Beach, California back in 2016. The jury’s decision was reached on Monday, February 10th of this year.

According to Long Beach Post, 43-year-old Leila Miyamoto was fully stopped in the road for at least a minute as she waited to make a left turn near Wardlow Road and

“The loaded truck weighing 37,000 pounds smashed into the rear of Leila Miyamoto’s van, totaling it and shattering the rear window,” her attorneys wrote in court filings.

The force of the impact caused Miyamoto’s head to slam into the steering wheel, and left her needing “numerous neck and back surgeries.”

“Her injuries and limitations since the time of the collision have put significant strain on her marital relationship and have hindered her ability to care for her children in the way she did before the crash and her quest to get the medical care that she needs in order to restore as much of her pre-collision functionality as possible has been long and arduous,” they wrote in court papers.

The negligence lawsuit was filed against Services Group of America, Inc., Food Services of America, Inc., Systems Services of America, Inc., and truck driver Daniel Almazan.

Defense attorneys argued that Miyamoto stopped suddenly in the roadway without using a turn signal, and that she has since overstated the extent of her injuries. However, the jury concluded that truck driver Almazan acted negligently when he crashed into the back of her van, despite the possibility that she stopped unsafely in the roadway. Miyamoto was awarded $21.3 million in the lawsuit.

“The jury saw through their attempts to distort the truth and delivered a powerful verdict for Leila who has endured years of pain and hardship,” Nick Rowley, an attorney for Miyamoto, said in a statement.

A Long Beach woman has won $21.3 million in a negligence lawsuit alleging she was left with a traumatic brain injury and chronic pain when her van was hit from behind by a big-rig truck in the California Heights neighborhood.

In her lawsuit, Leila Miyamoto, 43, said she had been fully stopped for at least a minute, waiting to make a left turn near Wardlow Road and Elm Avenue, when an 18-wheeler slammed into her minivan from behind. The 2016 wreck left her needing “numerous neck and back surgeries,” according to her attorneys.

After the crash, she and her 9-year-old son — who was in the van with her — filed a negligence lawsuit against Services Group of America, Inc., Food Services of America, Inc., driver Daniel Almazan, and Systems Services of America, Inc.

Defense attorneys maintained that Miyamoto made a sudden stop and did not use a turn signal, but on Monday, jurors found in her and her son’s favor. The panel concluded that Almazan acted negligently when his truck hit the van.

“The loaded truck weighing 37,000 pounds smashed into the rear of Leila Miyamoto’s van, totaling it and shattering the rear window,” her attorneys wrote in court filings.

The crash caused her head to hit the steering wheel and left her son fearing that his mother was dead, her attorneys wrote.

Miyamoto still has no recollection of the day of the collision or the days immediately before and after the crash, according to her lawyers.

Her attorneys described Miyamoto as a pillar of her family before the collision, organizing her family’s activities and home-schooling her children.

“Her injuries and limitations since the time of the collision have put significant strain on her marital relationship and have hindered her ability to care for her children in the way she did before the crash and her quest to get the medical care that she needs in order to restore as much of her pre-collision functionality as possible has been long and arduous,” they wrote in court papers.

One of Miyamoto’s attorneys, Nick Rowley, said the defense rejected a settlement offer of $6.9 million about seven years ago. They contended that Miyamoto had overstated the extent of her injuries.

“The jury saw through their attempts to distort the truth and delivered a powerful verdict for Leila, who has endured years of pain and hardship,” Rowley said in a statement.

City News Service, Long Beach Post editor Jeremiah Dobruck, and staff writer Jacob Sisneros contributed to this report.

A man who suffered unnecessary penis injections has been awarded the biggest ever medical malpractice payout of $412 million.

Jurors had found that fraudulent and negligent conduct by defendants NuMale Medical Center, a men’s heath clinic operating in several states, resulted in irreversible damage to the plaintiff.

The man, now in his 70s, had sought treatment for fatigue and weight loss, but the clinic misdiagnosed him and unnecessarily treated him with “invasive erectile dysfunction,” shots, said attorneys who celebrated Monday’s verdict.

The lawyers said they are hopeful the giant payout will prevent other men from falling victim to a scheme that involved fraud and what they described as dangerous penile injections. They added that the punitive and compensatory damages total the largest amount to ever be awarded by a jury in a medical malpractice case in the U.S.

“It’s a national record-setting case and it’s righteous because I don’t think there’s any place for licensed professionals to be defrauding patients for money. That is a very egregious breach of their fiduciary duty,” said Lori Bencoe, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiff.

“That’s breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”

Newsweek has reached out to Bencoe Law via email for comment.

NuMale has clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Newsweek has reached out to NuMale medical via email for comment.

The giant award follows a trial held in Albuquerque earlier this month which focused on allegations first outlined in a 2020 lawsuit.

Nick Rowley, one of the attorney’s on the plaintiff’s team said that the medical corporation set up a “fraudulent scheme to make millions off of conning old men.”

The plaintiff in this case was 66 when he visited the clinic in 2017.

Rowley said on social media that clinic workers had told patients they would have irreversible damage if they did not agree to injections three times per week.

Newsweek has reached out to The Rowley Law Firm for comment.

On their website, NuMale advertises multiple treatments for erectile dysfunction, including Trimix injections. Their website states that the injections are “typically compounded in specialized pharmacies, which means they are mixed according to a doctor’s prescription tailored to the needs of the patient

The medication is administered with an injection, where the patient uses a fine needle to inject the medication directly into the base or side of the penis.”

NuMale Medical Center President Brad Palubicki said in a statement sent Wednesday to The Associated Press that the company’s focus is on continuing to deliver responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance standards at all of its facilities.

“While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on specific details of the case at this time,” he said.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

The lawyers said their client went through multiple rounds of medication and procedures, and he underwent surgery by an unqualified physician assistant.

In a statement, the attorneys said this unprecedented verdict sends a powerful message that “medical providers cannot prioritize profits over patients’ well-being without being held accountable.”

NuMale Medical Center told KRQE News 13 that they “disagree with the verdict and intent to pursue all available legal remedies, including appeal.”

“While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on specific details of the case at this time,” he said.

NuMale also has clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

According to court records, jurors found that fraudulent and negligent conduct by the defendants resulted in damages to the plaintiff. They also found that unconscionable conduct by the defendants violated the Unfair Practices Act.