Raleigh police officer sues Starbucks after he spills coffee on himself

A police officer in North Carolina is suing Starbucks after he spilled hot coffee in his lap and got burned.

WRAL reported that Matthew Kohr, a lieutenant with the special operations division, answered questions in court this week about the incident in which he said he suffered burns, blisters and emotional damage.

In January 2012, Kohr said that he received a free cup of coffee, which he claims was served in a faulty cup. He alleged that when he took the lid off the cup, it folded in on itself, thus spilling the coffee into his lap.

In the lawsuit, Kohr said that the injuries he sustained aggravated his Crohn's disease and he needed to have surgery to remove a portion of his intestine.

Kohr is seeking compensation from the company that could add up to $750,000.

“I had a lot of anxiety, a lot of unsteadiness and nervousness,” he said. “I wasn’t comfortable in the car. You know, as a supervisor, in my experience as a police supervisor, you have to lead people and be confident. And I didn’t feel those same feelings I had in the past.”

If a lawsuit pertaining to a person spilling hot coffee, burning themselves and then suing the establishment that served it to them sounds familiar, then you’ve heard of Stella Liebeck.

The elderly woman sued McDonald’s over 20 years ago after she spilled hot coffee on herself and was awarded $2.9 million. The Los Angeles Times noted that the amount was later reduced and eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

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