Denver Woman Sues Starbucks For Killing Her Dog

Starbucks is being sued by a Denver woman after she and her dog were scalded by a piping hot beverage from the popular coffee chain. According to her, a barista handed her a cup of Venti tea that didn't have a heat sleeve, a double-cup or a secured lid.

Deanna Salas-Solano claims that she suffered severe burns after the hot water spilled from the cup onto her abdomen, thighs, as well as her dog Alexander. Salas-Solano claims that not only needed surgery and skin-grafts for her injuries but the incident also resulted in the death of Alexander.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday, the 58-year-old Deanna Salas-Solano ordered a Venti hot tea at a Starbucks drive-thru location on Sept. 27, 2015. Her lawyers claimed that she did not order the tea "extra-hot" and that the barista did not take the proper steps to make sure her safety.

Salas-Solano says that the "unreasonably hot" drink began to burn her hands almost instantly after being handed the drink. This caused her to let go of the cup spilling its contents, the extreme heat even melting her clothing.

Alexander, alerted by his owner's screams of pain leapt onto her causing himself to get scalded as well. He was later taken to an emergency veterinarian hospital while Salas-Solano was taken to Rose Medical Center for treatment and eventually received skin grafts from the Swedish Medical Center Burn and Reconstructive Unit.

According to her suit, Solas-Solando is seeking $100,000 USD in damages alleging, among other things, that the Starbucks barista did not follow company policy in using a double-cup for extra-hot beverages.

Starbucks says they sympathize with her loss but, on the other hand, refuted Salas-Solano's allegations claiming they have video evidence of the incident that contradicts her claim and that they have no reason to believe that their employee was to blame.