Girl Burned By Hot McDonald’s Chicken Nugget Awarded $800,000
22 Jul 2023
A young girl in Florida was awarded $800,000 (£623,000) in a civil lawsuit against McDonald’s after suffering a burn by a chicken nugget.
The incident which happened in 2019 at a drive-thru McDonald’s near Ford Lauderdale in Florida, left second-degree burns on then four-year-old Olivia Caraballo.
The girl’s mother Philana Holmes, testified that at no point did McDonald’s warn her the food might be unusually hot.
The company argued they simply followed food safety rules, which require McNuggets to be hot enough to avoid salmonella poisoning, and that what happens with the food once it leaves the drive-thru window is beyond their control.
The family were originally seeking $15 million (£11.67m), but a jury settled on less than a million.
“I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,” Holmes told reporters outside the courtroom.
In a statement, attorneys for the family told CNN, “This momentous decision brings meaningful closure to an arduous and protracted legal process. Having previously established the defendants, Upchurch Foods Inc and McDonald’s USA LLC, as liable for their wrongful actions, this verdict reaffirms that they must now face the consequences and provide full justice.”