09/22/2017
We had a nice mention this week in the DRI Voice about a recent case we defended successfully in federal court.
On November 7, 2015, plaintiffs Bettye and Jeffrey Erchul stopped at a Starbucks in Brunswick, Georgia. They purchased food and beverages at the drive-thru. They produced their receipt, from which Starbucks identified one of the baristas working that morning.
At the drive-thru, Bettye removed the coffee cups from the serving container and placed them in the car’s cup holder. After five or six minutes, she picked up her cup to drink from it. As she lifted it, the top came off and some coffee spilled onto her lap. She then panicked and dropped the cup. The remaining contents then spilled into her lap.
Nearby urgent care clinics were closed, but they finally located a hospital about 30 minutes away.
The following morning, Bettye underwent a surgery that included debridement and allograft placement on her thighs, suprapubic area, and perineal area. That afternoon she was discharged and they returned home to Tennessee.
Bettye sought follow-up treatment at Vanderbilt Medical Center. In December, she opted for an excision and closure of the burn wounds to her left and right thighs. By January it appeared her wounds had healed.
But in February, Bettye returned with a small mass under the scar on her right thigh, which was a delayed seroma (tumor-like collection of serum). The fluid collection persisted and Bettye underwent drainage and debridement surgery in February. The fluid collection recurred and did not resolve, so in April the doctor again excised the fluid collection.
This fluid collection recurred yet again, and in June Bettye underwent her fifth surgery on her right thigh. Two weeks later Bettye developed an infection. After a week of antibiotics and daily wound care, the wound closed.
She was discharged without restrictions in August 2016, but scarring was obvious and permanent.
Bettye Erchul sued Starbucks for compensatory damages for personal injuries and Jeffrey Erchul sued for lost consortium. This was a negligence action alleging that defendant Starbucks Coffee Company failed to secure the lid properly on a hot beverage, resulting in its spilling onto one of the plaintiff’s lap. The coffee caused serious second degree burns to her thighs and groin. The burns were treated successfully, but treatment entailed five surgeries. Medical bills totaled $114,539.11.
Before trial, plaintiffs filed a formal offer to settle for $540,000. This offer was made under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68, which is Georgia’s offer of settlement statute.
This case was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on August 14–15, 2017, before Hon. William S. Duffey, Jr. The jury stayed out less than an hour and returned a defense verdict. Starbucks Coffee Company, the sole defendant, was represented by DRI member Lucian Gillis, Jr., a partner with Gillis & Creasy LLC in Atlanta.
http://portal.criticalimpact.com/newsletter/newslettershow5.cfm?contentonly=1&content=273261&id=16541
