A woman is seeking more than $75,000 in a federal lawsuit after she and her dog were severely scalded when an improperly lidded cup of very hot tea spilled on them at a Denver Starbucks drive-thru window, killing the dog and disfiguring the woman.

Deanna Salas-Solano’s dog Alexander was so severely burned that he died at an emergency veterinarian hospital and Salas-Solano was taken to the emergency room of Rose Medical Center. She was later taken to the Swedish Medical Center Burn and Reconstructive Unit to undergo skin grafts.

Starbucks denies the allegations. “We have video evidence that clearly contradicts the claims made by the plaintiff and believe they are without merit,” the company said in a prepared statement.

“We look forward to presenting our case in court. While we are sympathetic to Ms. Salas-Solano and the injuries she sustained, we don’t have any reason to believe our partner (employee) was at fault.”

Salas-Solano’s attorneys, Sean Leventhal, Jonathan Sar and Brian Pushchak, originally filed the lawsuit in Denver state court in August. The suit was transferred to U.S. District Court in Denver on Wednesday.

Salas-Solano is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $75,000 for injuries that included disfigurement, severe burns, emotional distress, lost wages and physical impairment.

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The incident happened on Sept. 27, 2015, at a Starbucks at 5835 Leetsdale Drive.

Salas-Solano ordered a 20-ounce hot tea at the drive-thru. But she hadn’t ordered an “extra hot” tea, the lawsuit says. Starbucks employee Delaney Skaarer failed to properly secure the cup’s lid, didn’t double cup the tea or place it in a hot cup sleeve, the lawsuit said.

“The water temperature of the tea was unreasonably hot,” it says.

When Salas-Solano took the cup of tea in her hands, the hot temperature of the cup began to burn her hands and tea began to spill out of the unsecured lid and onto her body, the lawsuit says.

The hot tea melted Salas-Solano’s clothes and severely burned her. She felt intense pain to her stomach, legs and lap.She began screaming for help and writhing and moaning in pain, the lawsuit says.

Provided photo Injuries shown on Deanna Salas-Solano's stomach.

Provided photo Injuries shown on Deanna Salas-Solano's thigh.

Provided photo Injuries shown on Deanna Salas-Solano's stomach.



Her dog, Alexander, jumped onto her lap and the tea spilled on him, causing the dog to yelp in pain. Alexander died shortly after he was taken to a veterinarian hospital.

Two percent of Salas-Solanos’ body surface — her abdomen and bilateral thighs — had second-degree burns. She underwent skin grafts.

Starbucks had received complaints before Salas-Solanos’ severe injury. It had written policies about how hot to serve teas and another one to double-cup hot tea, the lawsuit says.

But employees were also graded on how fast they served tea. A wall-mounted timer was used to ensure employees met speed requirements, the lawsuit says.

