California Starbucks Accidentally Serving Blood-Laced Beverages, Claims New Lawsuit
Starbucks has definitely built a reputation for making some far out variations on its drinks. We all remember the infamous Unicorn Frappuccinos from last year. Over the summer, the coffee chain released Mango Pineapple and Berry Prickly Pear Fraps, as well as a Horchata Almond Milk Frappuccino. For Halloween, there was even a Zombie Frap. But a family in California claims that in 2016, they received a Starbucks beverage that was far scarier than that—one accidentally laced with a barista’s blood – and now, the family is suing the coffee giant.
According to Los Angeles’s KTLA, the incident took place back on February 6, 2016. Amanda Vice, her husband Louis, his mother Rhonda Agles, and the couple’s two-year-old daughter say they visited a Starbucks in San Bernardino and ordered several drinks. When they got home, they noticed that one of the cups had a red smear on the side and the drink itself had a “strong metallic smell,” according to a recently announced lawsuit. Allegedly, another cup, one being shared with the two year old, also had red markings—and according to Amanda Vice, by the time she figured out what was going on, her daughter had already been digging into the drink. “Once we drank it, then we could see on the inside of the rim that there was blood,” she was quoted as saying. “My wife and my baby just drank someone’s blood,” Louis Vice added. “It was bad.”
According to the lawsuit, after contacting the Starbucks location, an employee admitted that a barista had to be removed from the floor because she was bleeding. Later, a manager allegedly offered the family free drinks for a week and requested that the bleeding employee get a blood test to make sure he or she didn’t have any communicable diseases. Meanwhile, the Vices say they also had to get blood tests, which, according to their law firm, caused “distress for the parents as they had to watch their daughter be poked with a needle and agonizingly wait for the results.”
“The reality on this issue is that we take great pride in ensuring our customers have a good experience and any time they are not satisfied, we work diligently to make it right,” Reggie Borges, a Starbucks spokesperson, explained to me. “We’ve been working directly with the family to find a resolution since they informed us of their alleged experience 2 years ago. It was a surprise to learn about the lawsuit and the news release their legal team distributed with these allegations. We are fully prepared to present our case to the court in this matter.”
The good news for the family is that the tests all came back negative, but the bad news for Starbucks is that the Vices weren’t happy with Starbucks later attempt at compensation, which they claim was $1,000 for each family member. Instead, the Vices have chosen to sue. An announcement from the family’s law firm, The Frish Law Group, didn’t explicitly state what kind of damages the Vices were seeking. Meanwhile, a Starbucks representative told KTLA that the coffee chain is prepared to present its side of the case in court.
