A classical musician is suing Starbucks for over £2 million after a large wooden fridge surround fell down on her head at a branch in central London.
Sally Kenyon, 44, says she experienced concussion, migraines and other serious symptoms which ended her career following the incident at the coffee shop in London's Embankment in 2022.
Mrs Kenyon was on a day out with her two daughters, aged 10 and 11, at the time of the accident, The Mail on Sunday reports.
The mother-of-two, from Wells in Somerset, was left with a cut around her right eyebrow and required stitches in hospital.
Her legal team argues the incident has profoundly impacted her life, while Starbucks maintains some of her health problems pre-dated the incident.
Mrs Kenyon is a professional celloist who taught music at Millfield School, one the country's leading private schools.
She says the accident has left her with chronic migraines up to 15 times a month, with some of these episodes so severe she has been confined to bed for days at a time.
Music and performance were key aspects of her life, according to Mrs Kenyon’s testimony, and she found huge fulfilment passing on her skills as a music teacher, but she says she has been unable to perform since suffering the head injury.
Mrs Kenyon also describes suffering from fatigue, sleepiness, facial paralysis and sensory loss, as well as problems with memory, planning and organising.
She says her symptoms can be set off by anything from social interaction to bright lights.
Elsewhere, she says her ability to look after her children has been negatively impacted by the incident, as well as carrying out housework and other everyday tasks
Starbucks has admitted that Mrs Kenyon was hit by the wooden frame, but the firm argues she had already taken 68 days off work suffering anxiety before the incident, with symptoms including headaches and panic attacks.
Starbucks also rejects claims of negligence and insists Mrs Kenyon should be required to prove this. The firm has pushed forward its own medical expert's opinion that she would have suffered health problems even if the incident had not occurred.
A consultant neurologist giving evidence for the super-brand described Mrs Kenyon’s symptoms as the "worst end of the outcome spectrum following a minor head injury".
The case is ongoing at the High Court in Bristol.
