A family from Birmingham has launched a ‘no win no fee’ lawsuit against US coffee giant Starbucks, after a baby found a used syringe on a seat in a branch of the coffee shop and stabbed herself in the mouth with it.

The incident happened in March 2006, when Keeley Price was just 10 months old. However, her family say that the coffee chain has refused to apologise for the alleged incident, and the family now has no option but to sue Starbucks through ‘no win no fee’ solicitors.

The Daily Mail reports that Keeley was with her mother Kelly Shipley, 27, from Yardley in Birmingham and grandmother Linda Shipley, 52, in a branch of Starbucks in Birmingham’s Bullring Centre when she picked up the discarded syringe.

The family endured an ‘agonising’ six-month wait to see if Keeley was clear of disease after stabbing herself with the needle.

Her mother, Kelly, said she complained immediately to the manageress of the coffee shop – and claims she logged it in a book but refused to take any further action.

'She couldn't get us out of the shop fast enough,' said Ms Shipley. 'We didn't get offered any first aid, there was no apology and no offer of a taxi to take us to hospital.’

Ms Shipley has three other children aged from 13 months to nine years’ old and lives with her partner Alan Price in Acocks Green.

She and her mother allege they were forced to travel by bus to the Heartlands Hospital in the city to have Keeley examined by doctors. The baby had reached over her mother’s shoulder and found the syringe in the upholstery of the seat they were using in the coffee shop. Keeley had put the syringe straight into her mouth, but also pricked her mother’s hand as she did so and drew blood.

At hospital, both received injections and three further inoculations against Hepatitis B and other diseases.

'It was six months before we got the all clear,’ said Ms Shipley. ‘But in that time we were worried sick and imagining the worst.

'We didn't know what was in the needle – it could have been Hepatitis, HIV anything. We think it was from a drug user because it didn't look like the kind a diabetic would use.’

Ms Shipley said Starbucks told her the incident was not their responsibility as the shop was cleaned regularly. However, she disputes this, alleging that when she lifted up a cushion on a seat she found food debris, which indicated that it had not been cleaned for some time.

The family is now pursuing a ‘no win no fee’ claim against the US coffee retailer, after ‘waiting months’ for Starbucks to issue an apology.

The family’s lawyer said:

'All the family want is an apology and an acceptance of responsibility from Starbucks – but they didn't get it so they have resorted to legal action. This is not about compensation, this is about preventing such a thing happening to another family.'

A spokeswoman for Starbucks said:

'We can confirm that in March 2006 an incident occurred at Starbucks coffee house in the Bullring Borders bookstore.

'According to our records, Ms Shipley was offered first aid in the store and a member of the Bull Ring security offered to call her an ambulance. The incident was taken very seriously and later the same day our customer care manager phoned Ms Shipley to enquire after her wellbeing. We also wrote to her to express our concern and to assure her that we were fully co-operating with the police inquiry.'

Starbucks is due to appear before Birmingham County Court, facing charges of failing to provide a duty of care to visitors to its store.

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