A professional cellist and music teacher is suing Starbucks for more than £2million after a wooden fridge surround fell on her head, causing devastating long-term injuries that she says ended her career.
Sally Kenyon, 44, said the freak accident in a central London branch of the coffee giant left her with concussion, leading to migraines and a cocktail of other symptoms.
Mrs Kenyon is suing Starbucks for damages after the accident in 2022 at a branch of the coffee shop in London’s Embankment during a day out with her young daughters aged 10 and 11.
A large wooden fridge surround fell and struck her on the head, cutting her around her right eyebrow and she needed stitches in hospital.
But it was the lasting impact which changed her life, she says – though Starbucks claims some of her health issues predate the accident.
Sally Kenyon, 44, who taught cello at the prestigious Millfield School in Somerset is suing Starbucks for £2m after a wooden fridge surround hit her in the head
The accident occurred at a Starbucks in Embankment, London, during a day out with herdaughters. Mrs Kenyon says since the incident she has been uable to go back to work. In its defence, Starbucks says she had already taken 68 days off with anxiety before the accident
The mother-of-two from Wells in Somerset says she has been unable to go back to work and can no longer play in orchestras as she previously did.
Mrs Kenyon, who taught cello at the prestigious Millfield School in Somerset, says she suffers chronic migraines for typically 15 days a month, sometimes so severe she has to go to bed for days on end – and says they alone amount to a disability.
She says that her music work and performance had previously been central to her life, and she found immense satisfaction from her work as a music teacher and her ability to pass on her knowledge and skills.
But since the accident she says she is unable to perform.
Mrs Kenyon says she has also suffered from fatigue, sleepiness, facial paralysis and sensory loss.
She also has problems with memory, planning, organising and problem-solving and finds her symptoms can be triggered by anything from bright light to social interaction, she says.
Her ability to care for her children and carry out everyday tasks has also been compromised, and she is much less able to cope with domestic responsibilities than previously, she says.
In its defence the company admits that Mrs Kenyon was hit by the wooden frame but claims that she had taken 68 days off work with anxiety before the accident, and already suffered with headaches and panic attacks.
Mrs Kenyon, who taught cello at the prestigious Millfield School in Somerset, says she suffers chronic migraines for typically 15 days a month, sometimes so severe she has to go to bed for days on end – and says they alone amount to a disability
Starbucks does not accept it was negligent – it says she should be required to prove this – and says its medical expert believes she would have suffered continuing health problems even without the accident.
And a consultant neurologist for the chain describes the symptoms she claims to suffer as being at the ‘worst end of the outcome spectrum following a minor head injury’.
Starbucks declined to comment on the case at the High Court in Bristol.
