Operating system.
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Broward jury awards family $800,000 after their child was burned by McDonald's chicken nugget
A jury in South Florida awarded $800,000 in damages to a little girl who was severely burned whenthe hot Chicken McNugget fell on her legas her mother pulled away from the drive-thru at a McDonald's restaurant.
Lawyers for the family of Olivia Caraballo, who was four when she was burned to death in 2019, sought $15 million in damages. Jurors reached their verdict after less than two hours of deliberation Wednesday, South Florida SunSentinelreported.
The jury verdict awarded damages of $400,000 for the past four years and another $400,000 for the future of McDonald's USA and its franchisee Upchurch Foods. A separate jury ruled in May that the company and the franchisee were liable for the damage, which happened outside a McDonald's in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale.
"I'm actually just glad that they listened to Olivia's voice and that the jury came to a fair verdict," Olivia's mother, Philana Holmes, told reporters outside the courtroom. "I'm happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me."
She testified Tuesday that Olivia, now 8, calls the scar on her inner thigh her "bump" and is obsessed with removing it, the newspaper reported.
Lawyers for McDonald's argued that the child's discomfort stopped when the wound healed, which they said took about three weeks. They claimed the girl's mother is the one with the scar problem and told jurors that $156,000 should cover past and future damages.
“She still goes to McDonald's, she still asks to go to McDonald's, she still goes through the drive-thru with her mother and gets chicken nuggets,” attorney Jennifer Miller said in her closing argument Wednesday. "The injury isn't bothering her. It's all mom."
Defense attorneys declined to comment after the verdict.
In May, UpChurch Foods said the restaurant followed protocols in preparing and serving the happy meal.
“Our condolences go out to this family for what happened in this unfortunate incident as customer safety is one of our highest priorities. This is why our restaurant follows strict rules in accordance with best food safety practices when it comes to cooking and serving our dishes. menu items, including Chicken McNuggets,” UpChurch Foods said in a statement.
Holmes testified that she had bought Happy Meals for her son and daughter, who were in the backseat and driving away when the nugget fell on the child's leg. She said the girl screamed in pain and when she pulled into a parking lot, she realized the gold nugget was stuck between Oliva's thigh and seat belt.
The mother testified that McDonald's never warned her that the food might be unusually hot. The company testified that they follow food safety rules, which require McNuggets to be hot enough to prevent salmonella poisoning, and that what happens to the food after it leaves the drive-thru window is beyond their control.
While both sides agreed at trial in May that the gold nugget caused the burns, the family's lawyers claimed the temperature was above 200 degrees (93 degrees Celsius), while the defense said it was no higher than 160 degrees (71 degrees Celsius).
In court, photos the mother had taken of the burn were shown and audio clips of the child's screams were played.
“Our customers should continue to have confidence that McDonald's is following policies and procedures for safely serving Chicken McNuggets,” McDonald's said in a statement in May.
The case may bring back memories of the McDonald's coffee trial in the 1990s, which became an urban legend about seemingly frivolous lawsuits even though a jury and judge had ruled otherwise.
A New Mexico jury awarded 81-year-old Stella Liebeck $2.7 million in damages after she was burned in 1992 by hot McDonald's coffee that landed on her lap and burned her legs, groin and buttocks when she tried to reach the cup keeping his legs still. while prying off the lid to add cream outside a drive-thru. She suffered third-degree burns and was hospitalized for more than a week.
She had originally asked McDonald's for $20,000 to cover hospital costs, but the company went to court. A judge later reduced the reward from $2.7 million to $480,000, which he said was appropriate for McDonald's "intentional, wanton, reckless" and "callous" conduct.
Later, in 2018, aalleged lawsuita teenager was badly burned after being served hot water at an "unreasonably dangerous temperature" at a McDonald's restaurant in Oregon.
A separate lawsuit prompted a woman to file a lawsuit against Dunkin' Donuts in New Jersey after she fell in a parking lot, spilled hot coffee and burned herself. SheReportedlysettled with the chain in 2015 for $522,000.
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