A California man is suing Starbucks for severe burns he suffered across his body, including his genitals, when the lid popped off his hot tea at a drive-through – making sexual intimacy “painful and awkward,” according to reports.
Tommy Piluyev pulled up along with his family to the Starbucks in Roseville in his BMW on Oct. 5, 2018, when he was 22, and ordered two grande Honey Citrus Mint teas, the Sacramento Bee reported.
“As the window associate reached to the SUV’s window sill to deliver the second sleeved and lidded cup to Mr. Piluyev, the lid lost its seal with the cup lip and dislodged from the top of the cup,” according to the federal lawsuit filed in Sacramento.
“Hot tea spilled on Mr. Piluyev’s left hand during the transfer, the cup overturned on the window sill and hot tea poured onto Mr. Piluyev’s hands, stomach and pelvic area,” the suit continues.
“Covered in scalding tea, and unable to open his door to escape because he was near the drive-through window, Mr. Piluyev quickly put the SUV into gear and accelerated from the window. He pulled into an adjacent parking lot, hastily exited the vehicle stripped off his sweat pants.”
By the time he reached a hospital, Piluyev suffered “partial-thickness burns with blistering across the lower left abdomen, thighs, penis, scrotum, peritoneum and buttocks,” the suit says.
He also can no longer play the piano because of the burns he suffered on nine finger, according to his claim.
Piluyev spent 11 days in at the UC Davis Medical Center’s burn unit, where “he required intravenous pain control along with intensive and invasive wound care,” according to the suit.
“Mr. Piluyev could not use his hands or fingers for any purpose, including personal care. He became entirely dependent on the medical staff,” it continues.
“Upon discharge, Mr. Piluyev’s wife performed her husband’s wound and personal care. Mr. Piluyev transitioned from IV narcotics to gabapentin, oxycodone, Tylenol and ibuprofen. In the five months post-discharge Mr. Piluyev gradually regained the ability to walk, the ability to sense touch in some of his fingers, the ability to hold his young child, and eventually, to use a computer keyboard,” the suit says.
“Mr. Piluyev remained unable to play the piano,” it adds. “The sensitivity and permanent skin discoloration and disfigurement of Mr. Piluyev’s genitals and inner thighs made eventual intimacy awkward and painful.”
Piluyev and his wife, Liudmila Maftey, also are suing Pactiv Packaging Inc., which the suit says provided the cups and lids, for alleged negligence and product liability.
The couple’s attorney, Whitney Davis, alleges that the defendants were aware of 80 complaints a day of lids coming off cups, and that they “had knowledge of additional complaints and burn incidents from employees, managers and associates concerning defective cups and lids.”
“The nerves have grown back and healed back and he learned to walk again. Because that took a while to learn how to walk again with those comprehensive injuries around that whole section of your body,” Davis told CBS Sacramento.
The tea is served at temperatures ranging from 190 to 205 degrees, according to the lawsuit.
Piluyev’s lawyer said he’s looking for people who have had similar experiences to push the feds to mandate that beverages be served no hotter than 150 degrees.
A Starbucks spokeswoman said the Seattle-based coffee giant is reviewing the lawsuit.
“Our partners take great pride in ensuring our beverages are crafted with care and delivered to customers safely,” the rep told the Sacramento Bee. “And we take our responsibility to provide a safe environment seriously and will continue to do so.”
Pactiv did not respond to a request for comment by the news outlet.
nypost.com
Tommy Piluyev pulled up along with his family to the Starbucks in Roseville in his BMW on Oct. 5, 2018, when he was 22, and ordered two grande Honey Citrus Mint teas, the Sacramento Bee reported.
“As the window associate reached to the SUV’s window sill to deliver the second sleeved and lidded cup to Mr. Piluyev, the lid lost its seal with the cup lip and dislodged from the top of the cup,” according to the federal lawsuit filed in Sacramento.
“Hot tea spilled on Mr. Piluyev’s left hand during the transfer, the cup overturned on the window sill and hot tea poured onto Mr. Piluyev’s hands, stomach and pelvic area,” the suit continues.
“Covered in scalding tea, and unable to open his door to escape because he was near the drive-through window, Mr. Piluyev quickly put the SUV into gear and accelerated from the window. He pulled into an adjacent parking lot, hastily exited the vehicle stripped off his sweat pants.”
By the time he reached a hospital, Piluyev suffered “partial-thickness burns with blistering across the lower left abdomen, thighs, penis, scrotum, peritoneum and buttocks,” the suit says.
He also can no longer play the piano because of the burns he suffered on nine finger, according to his claim.
Piluyev spent 11 days in at the UC Davis Medical Center’s burn unit, where “he required intravenous pain control along with intensive and invasive wound care,” according to the suit.
“Mr. Piluyev could not use his hands or fingers for any purpose, including personal care. He became entirely dependent on the medical staff,” it continues.
“Upon discharge, Mr. Piluyev’s wife performed her husband’s wound and personal care. Mr. Piluyev transitioned from IV narcotics to gabapentin, oxycodone, Tylenol and ibuprofen. In the five months post-discharge Mr. Piluyev gradually regained the ability to walk, the ability to sense touch in some of his fingers, the ability to hold his young child, and eventually, to use a computer keyboard,” the suit says.
“Mr. Piluyev remained unable to play the piano,” it adds. “The sensitivity and permanent skin discoloration and disfigurement of Mr. Piluyev’s genitals and inner thighs made eventual intimacy awkward and painful.”
Piluyev and his wife, Liudmila Maftey, also are suing Pactiv Packaging Inc., which the suit says provided the cups and lids, for alleged negligence and product liability.
The couple’s attorney, Whitney Davis, alleges that the defendants were aware of 80 complaints a day of lids coming off cups, and that they “had knowledge of additional complaints and burn incidents from employees, managers and associates concerning defective cups and lids.”
“The nerves have grown back and healed back and he learned to walk again. Because that took a while to learn how to walk again with those comprehensive injuries around that whole section of your body,” Davis told CBS Sacramento.
The tea is served at temperatures ranging from 190 to 205 degrees, according to the lawsuit.
Piluyev’s lawyer said he’s looking for people who have had similar experiences to push the feds to mandate that beverages be served no hotter than 150 degrees.
A Starbucks spokeswoman said the Seattle-based coffee giant is reviewing the lawsuit.
“Our partners take great pride in ensuring our beverages are crafted with care and delivered to customers safely,” the rep told the Sacramento Bee. “And we take our responsibility to provide a safe environment seriously and will continue to do so.”
Pactiv did not respond to a request for comment by the news outlet.
Man sues Starbucks for burns to genitals that make sex ‘painful and awkward’
Piluyev spent 11 days in at the UC Davis Medical Center’s burn unit, where “he required intravenous pain control along with intensive and invasive wound care,” according to the suit.
nypost.com
