Florida woman severely scalded by Starbucks coffee awarded $100,000

A jury in the US has ordered Starbucks to pay $100,000 (£77,000) to a woman, who suffered burns by a cup of coffee.

Joanne Mogavero from Florida has suffered first and second degree burns when the lid popped off a 20-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee. The incident happened in 2014 at a drive-through outlet in Jacksonville, Florida, when the mother of three took the coffee from an employee to pass it to her passenger.

Her lawyers had accused the coffee chain house of negligence and said its employees should take the responsibility to warn customers before offering them hot drinks.

"My client didn't want sympathy from the jury - she wanted justice - and the jury gave it to her with its verdict," her lawyer Steve Earle said.

"It was good to see a just result," Earle added.

One of Starbucks' representatives had also testified during a court hearing in Duval County, Florida, that the company receives at least 80 complaints a month regarding the lids popping or leaking, Mogavero's legal team said in a statement.

The 43-year-old has been awarded $85,000 for pain and suffering and approximately $15,000 to cover medical bills.

Starbucks has said it was considering filing an appeal against the verdict. The coffee giant has argued that it "would not be relevant" to warn customers of the risk.

"As we said in trial, we stand behind our store partners in this case and maintain that they did nothing wrong," a Starbucks spokesperson told the BBC.

In 2015, a North Carolina cop had also sued Starbucks for hot coffee-related injuries. Matthew Kohr had testified he was in immense pain after the lid of his coffee cup came off, spilling the hot liquid on his lap.

Kohr had sued the coffee cafe for at least $50,000, saying he had suffered third-degree burns from the spill. The coffee had been free, a benefit for police force members.