Starbucks Tagged With Another Hot-Coffee Lawsuit

Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks is facing a yet another lawsuit over the temperature of its primary product. More than 20 years after McDonald's was punished for serving coffee that was deemed to be too hot, Starbucks is facing similar legal action, reports ABC 13 in Houston. Katherine Mize claims a she was covered in spilled coffee so hot "that I jumped out of the car."

The suit says she was purchasing coffee on July 13, 2014, when a drive-thru employee at a Houston Starbucks location dropped a to-go cup of coffee while handing handing off the order. Mize caught the cup, "and it squooshed all over everywhere and all over me." Mize told NBC 2 Houston she got out of her car "and then just started hollering." But, she claims no one came to her aid.

Mize says the resulting burns were so severe she had to miss a month of work. Her attorney, Brian Humphrey, says he and his client have previously attempted to resolve the matter without success. Humphrey "reluctantly" filed the lawsuit against Starbucks and the employee last week. Mize is reportedly seeking $200,000 to $1 million "for past and future physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, and physical disfigurement."

Starbucks tells NBC 2 the company is looking into the suit: "The health and safety of our customers and partners (employees) is always our top priority. We are evaluating the customer's claims and determining the appropriate next steps."

This is far from the first hot-coffee lawsuit Starbucks has faced. The most recent was filed in January, when a Florida man claimed he suffered second-degree burns to his groin after an employee spilled "exceedingly hot" coffee in his lap.