B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has rejected the claims of a woman who said her finger was injured as she tried to open a Starbucks patio door in June 2023.
According to the Dec. 10 decision, Julie Kraljii claimed $2,800 for pain and suffering she said were caused by the injury.
Starbucks argued it took reasonable care to ensure its café was safe, and the door was not hazardous.
“Starbucks claims Ms. Kraljii caused the injury by awkwardly opening the door and not paying attention,” tribunal member Jeffrey Drozdiak wrote. “Starbucks denies it is liable for the injury.”
She went to a barista and got a bandage and also went to a bathroom to apply pressure, said the decision.
Kraljii saw a doctor three times and also went to a walk-in clinic where a doctor noted ”a small cut with no sign of an infection.”
The next month, a doctor found the wound had healed but the finger still had bending issues and pain.
“Ms. Kraljii says they are a hairdresser and fitness instructor, and these jobs were very painful after the incident. They say their scissors rested on the sore knuckle, and they could not bend their finger to grip weights,” Drozdiak said. “I accept that the injury looks painful and would be problematic for these activities.”
Starbucks didn’t dispute that Kraljii injured herself at the café.
However, Drozdiak said, the main question in the dispute was whether Starbucks was liable for the injury.
He said to be successful in the case, Kraljii had to prove the patio door created an objectively unreasonable risk of harm.
“Notably, Ms. Kraljii did not provide any evidence to show how the door created such a risk,” Drozdiak ruled.
Starbucks staff provided a statement saying they used the door multiple times a day without injury. The company also said the door was inspected after the incident.
“I find the likelihood that someone would injure themselves on the patio door is low. There is nothing that appears obviously dangerous about the door, and the door does not have any noticeable defects,” Drozdiak said.
The decision noted Kraljii provided a picture showing how she opened the door.
“In the picture, Ms. Kraljii can be seen taking an underhand grip with their left hand and pulling the door lever down,” he said. “I find it was not reasonably foreseeable for Starbucks to expect someone to open a door in this manner and injure themselves on the door frame.”
Drozdiak found Starbucks was not liable and dismissed the case.
