Thursday, January 31, 2002


several people -- including the comment from monday's post -- have been talking about the recent large award a new york woman won from starbucks during an accident that occured when she was shopping for an espresso machine. . . .

SCALD GAL GETS BIG $TARBUCKS sez the new york post in its typical style. (note to self: why is this week turning into a tabloid fest? yesterday newsday; today the post?? from now on, i'm discussing only the news that's fit to print, as they say.) many people are expressing outrage with the US$3.5 million size of the verdict and offering the usual rants about tort reform.

personally, i don't know what to think. i can't really find a reputable news source that presents the facts squarely. most news outlets are just reprinting the same basic ap wire story. the bbc explains that a starbucks employee didn't fit the portafilter on correctly during the sales demonstration. but if he was putting on the portafilter, he was in front of the machine. so how did she get burned on the hand? and if was a case of just hot water pouring over the side of a loose portafilter, how could the machine have "blown apart"? and how badly could she have been burned? the water wouldn't have even been at the boiling point.

other sources add little more: some news group sources (usenet is not generally known as a source for objective journalism) suggest that when she asked for a demonstration of a starbucks barista espresso machine, the machine had been left on in the steam position by another employee in a previous demo. she herself filled the portafilter and attempted to attach the handle to the machine. since the machine in steam mode had been sitting there, building up pressure, when she tried to brew a shot, the pressure literally blew the portafilter handle off the front of the machine, releasing scalding water and burning the woman's hand. she claims she can no longer use it at all due to nerve damage.

however, none of this makes sense to me as an espresso machine owner. don't all high-quality home espresso machines have pressure-release safety mechanisms? and doesn't the starbucks barista? lack of a pressure-relief safety system in the machine design would then be the real problem, right? the news stories don't say.

further, if the handle blew off, wouldn't she have been whacked in the face or chest with the portafilter if she had been standing right there with her hand under the grouphead (the place where the hot water flows out through the coffee)? i would think a chrome-plated heavy brass portafilter/espresso handle flying at you with whatever speed a 9-bar-pressure explosion would generate would be far worse than a couple of ounces of 200 degree water. . .

i don't mean to minimize her plight. i just can't understand what happened from the news reports. . .so i don't know what to think. . .it seems like you'd need a degree in engineering to understand what happened and why. . .

starbucks has not yet posted any comment that i can find on its website, naturally.

posted by fortune | 11:37 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments