By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.
Burned because of someone else?
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Beverly Law is not affiliated with Peet’s Coffee.
What to do after a Peet’s burn
- Cool the burn. For a minor burn with unbroken skin, MedlinePlus says to run cool water, not ice water, over it for at least 5 to 30 minutes, and not to remove clothing stuck to the skin. Call 911 if the burn is about the size of your palm or larger (MedlinePlus).
- Get burn center care for a deep burn. The ABA recommends burn center consultation for any full-thickness burn, partial-thickness burns of 10% or more of body surface, and deep burns to the face, hands, feet, genitals, perineum or over any joint (ABA referral guidelines). A deep burn to the hand from a cup that gave way at the counter is on that list.
- Keep the cup and lid. If the lid would not stay seated, that is the evidence.
- Keep your receipt or app order with the store and time, the names of the barista and any witnesses, and the incident report number if the store made one.
- Photograph the burn, your clothing and the counter or floor where it happened.
- Ask for the store video in writing within days, sent to Peet’s and, at a licensed campus location, to the operator too. Use our evidence preservation letter and the after-a-burn checklist.
Peet’s is a California company with company-owned stores
Alfred Peet opened the first Peet’s on April 1, 1966, at the corner of Vine and Walnut streets in Berkeley. The company says it now has several hundred coffeebars, plus licensed locations on many campuses (Peet’s Coffee).
Restaurant Dive, citing Peet’s franchise disclosure document, reported that Peet’s U.S. footprint in 2024 was 199 company-owned units and zero franchised units, and that 168 of those were in California. In January 2026 Peet’s confirmed to Restaurant Dive that it would close a number of locations, and local media reported that several were in the San Francisco Bay Area (Restaurant Dive).
Two practical points follow. At a regular Peet’s coffeebar, the store crew works for Peet’s, so there is no franchisee in the middle. At a licensed location, such as a counter on a campus, the operator may be a different company or a public institution, and that changes who you file against and how fast you must act.
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How burns happen at a coffeebar
A drink handed across a counter raises different questions than one passed through a drive-thru window. The fact patterns below come up in coffee shop burn claims generally; they are not reports about any Peet’s store.
The handoff across the counter. A barista sets a full cup on the bar or passes it hand to hand. A lid that is pressed on at one edge only can release when the customer grips the cup.
The condiment station. Customers often take the lid off to add milk or sugar. In the McDonald’s case that made national news, the customer was burned while doing exactly that (American Museum of Tort Law). A cup filled to the brim leaves no room to do it safely.
Hot water and tea. Tea water often goes into the cup hotter than coffee does. In its table of typical temperatures, a 2019 review in the Journal of Food Science puts tea water at 191°F to 196°F as it is poured, about 5 degrees above coffee, and the authors recommend cooling or diluting either drink before it reaches the customer (Abraham and Diller, 2019).
Spills on the floor and counters. A slip on a wet floor while carrying a hot drink can produce a fall injury and a burn at once. That is a premises claim against whoever controls the store.
We found no Peet’s serving temperature in the sources we reviewed. Contact time matters: the American Burn Association’s table shows a third-degree burn in adult skin in about 1 second at 155°F and 5 seconds at 140°F (ABA scald guide).
The California rules that decide a coffee shop burn claim
| Rule | What it means for a burn at a coffee shop | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Duty of ordinary care | Everyone is responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property or person | Civ. Code § 1714 |
| Pure comparative fault | If you share the blame, your recovery is reduced by your percentage, and it is never cut off | Li v. Yellow Cab Co. |
| Strict product liability | The maker of a defective cup or lid is liable for injuries it causes | Greenman v. Yuba Power Products |
| Deadline to sue | 2 years from the injury | CCP § 335.1 |
| Children | The 2-year clock does not run while the injured person is a minor, except against a public entity | CCP § 352 |
| Public property | A government claim is due within 6 months if a public entity is responsible | Gov. Code § 911.2 |
| University of California | The government claims statute does not apply to claims against the Regents | Gov. Code § 905.6 |
| Punitive damages | Only on clear and convincing proof of oppression, fraud or malice | Civ. Code § 3294 |
The public property rows matter for campus counters. A coffee counter inside a California State University building or a city-run facility can bring a public entity into the case, and missing the six-month claim deadline can end the claim against that entity. Because that part of the Government Code does not apply to the UC Regents, a burn at a UC campus counter follows different claim rules and should be reviewed by a lawyer right away.
Where Bay Area burn patients are treated
Peet’s started in Berkeley, and most of its stores are in California. The American Burn Association lists these Northern California burn centers as ABA-verified (ABA directory):
- Bothin Burn Center, UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital, San Francisco (adult and pediatric)
- Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Regional Burn Center, San Jose (adult and pediatric)
- Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center at UC Davis, Sacramento (adult)
- Shriners Children’s Northern California, Sacramento (pediatric)
Our burn center directory lists the rest.
Texas and Washington
If you were burned at a coffee shop outside California, the deadline is 2 years in Texas (CPRC § 16.003), where a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing (CPRC § 33.001). In Washington it is 3 years (RCW 4.16.080), and fault reduces recovery without barring it (RCW 4.22.005). Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou.
Related pages
Burn injury lawyer · Scald burns · Drive-thru burns · Starbucks burns · Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf burns · California burn injury lawyer · Burn centers
Talk to a burn injury lawyer
If a drink from Peet’s or another California coffeebar burned you or your child, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free, confidential review in English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.
Common questions
Can I sue Peet's for a burn?
Yes, if the store’s handling of the drink or a defective cup or lid caused it. At a regular Peet’s coffeebar you would sue Peet’s itself, since its franchise disclosure document listed only company-owned U.S. stores for 2024. At a licensed campus counter, the operator may be another company or a public entity, which can bring a six-month government claim deadline.
How much is a Peet's burn lawsuit worth?
It depends on the injury and the treatment it needed. We found no reported verdicts, settlements or published lawsuits over Peet’s burns in the court records and news coverage we searched, so there is no Peet’s result to compare with. Your case would rest on its own evidence and medical records.
The lid popped off when I picked up my cup. Is that enough?
It can be, if the lid was not seated or the lid itself was defective. Keep the lid. A lid that fails in normal use can support a claim against the store and a strict liability claim against its maker.
I took the lid off to add milk and spilled it. Do I have a case?
Possibly. California uses pure comparative fault, so your own share of blame lowers the recovery without ending it (Li v. Yellow Cab). In the McDonald’s coffee case, the customer was adding cream and sugar with the lid off, and the jury put 20% of the fault on her (American Museum of Tort Law).
How long do I have to sue Peet's?
Two years in California (CCP § 335.1) and Texas (CPRC § 16.003), three years in Washington (RCW 4.16.080). If a public entity in California is involved, a government claim is due within six months.
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Burn injury lawyer — Beverly Law
If you or your child was burned because of someone else in California, Texas and Washington, talk to a burn injury attorney. Free, confidential, English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.
Related pages
Sources
- Peet's Coffee, "The History of Peet's Coffee" (peets.com)
- Restaurant Dive, Peet's closing stores, citing Peet's 2024 franchise disclosure document (Jan. 21, 2026) (restaurantdive.com)
- American Museum of Tort Law, Liebeck v. McDonald's (tortmuseum.org)
- Abraham and Diller, "A Review of Hot Beverage Temperatures," Journal of Food Science 84(8), 2019 (Oregon State mirror) (foodsci.oregonstate.edu)
- American Burn Association scald guide (childburn.org)
- American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center (ameriburn.org)
- MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine), Burns, first aid (medlineplus.gov)
- MedlinePlus en español, Quemaduras (medlineplus.gov)
- American Burn Association, burn center referral guidelines (ameriburn.org)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1714 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Cal. Gov. Code § 905.6 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 3294 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) (scocal.stanford.edu)
- Greenman v. Yuba Power Products (1963) (scocal.stanford.edu)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- RCW 4.16.080 (app.leg.wa.gov)
- RCW 4.22.005 (app.leg.wa.gov)
Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.