Florida Jury Grants 8-Year-Old Girl $800k in Compensation for McDonald’s Burn Injury from Chicken McNugget

Florida Jury Grants 8-Year-Old Girl $800k in Compensation for McDonald’s Burn Injury from Chicken McNugget

A Florida family has been awarded $800,000 in damages following an incident outside a McDonald’s in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale. The incident occurred when a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget fell on the leg of a 4-year-old girl named Olivia Caraballo in 2019. The burn caused second-degree injuries to the young girl.

After the incident, the family pursued legal action, and recently, jurors reached a verdict awarding them $400,000 in damages for the past four years and another $400,000 for future damages. The compensation is to be paid by both McDonald’s USA and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods.

The recent verdict awarding $800,000 in damages to the Florida family came after a prior jury decision in May. In that earlier ruling, the company McDonald’s USA and the franchise owner Upchurch Foods were found liable for the injury caused to Olivia Caraballo when a Chicken McNugget fell on her leg outside a McDonald’s drive-thru in 2019.

Following the recent verdict, Olivia’s mother, Philana Holmes, expressed her satisfaction with the outcome, stating that she believed the jury reached a “fair judgment.” The compensation granted by the jury aims to address the pain, suffering, and medical expenses associated with Olivia’s second-degree burn injury and its impact on the family.

“I’m just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice, and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,” expressed Holmes. “I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me.”

Holmes conveyed her satisfaction with the jury’s decision, emphasizing the importance of Olivia’s voice being heard in the legal process. The verdict provided a sense of closure for the family and acknowledgment of the impact of the incident on Olivia’s life. Holmes expressed contentment with the outcome, considering it more than what she had anticipated.

During the court proceedings, Holmes testified on Tuesday that her daughter Olivia, now 8 years old, refers to the scar on her inner thigh as her “nugget” and has plans to have it removed, as reported by the newspaper. The scar resulted from the incident when a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget fell on her leg at a McDonald’s drive-thru when she was 4 years old.

In their legal claim, the family sought $15 million in damages for the physical and emotional impact of the burn injury on Olivia and the family as a whole.

During her testimony, Olivia’s mother, Philana Holmes, recounted the incident, explaining that she had purchased Happy Meals for her son and daughter, who were seated in the back of the car when the incident occurred. She heard her daughter scream in pain, immediately pulled over in a nearby parking lot, and discovered the Chicken McNugget lodged between Olivia’s thigh and the seat belt, causing the burn.

As part of her testimony, Holmes presented photos of the burn and played sound clips of her daughter’s screams in court, illustrating the severity of the injury and its impact on Olivia’s well-being.

Holmes stated that at no point did McDonald’s warn her about the potential temperature of the food. McDonald’s defense attorneys argued that the child’s wound had healed within approximately three weeks and that she did not experience any further discomfort, suggesting that a compensation of $156,000 should be sufficient to cover both past and future damages. They also contended that Olivia’s mother appeared to be troubled by the resulting scar.

During the closing argument, defense attorney Jennifer Miller emphasized that the young girl, Olivia, continued to visit McDonald’s and enjoy Chicken McNuggets without any signs of distress or discomfort related to the injury. Miller stated that Olivia still went to McDonald’s, asked to go there, and even went through the drive-thru with her mother, indicating that the incident did not appear to have a lasting negative impact on the child. Miller argued that any emotional distress seemed to be primarily attributed to the mother, Philana Holmes.

The company, McDonald’s, testified that they followed food safety regulations, which required the McNuggets to be prepared at a temperature sufficient to avoid salmonella poisoning. They also asserted that once the food left the restaurant, its handling and use were no longer under their control.

During the trial in May, both parties agreed that the Chicken McNugget caused the burns on Olivia’s leg. However, they disputed the exact temperature of the nugget at the time of the incident.

The recent case involving Olivia Caraballo’s burn injury from a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget draws comparisons to a separate incident in New Mexico in 1992. In that incident, an 81-year-old woman named Stella Liebeck spilled McDonald’s coffee on herself, resulting in third-degree burns that required her to spend over a week in the hospital.

In Stella Liebeck’s case, a jury awarded her $2.7 million in punitive damages, indicating their dissatisfaction with McDonald’s actions regarding the incident. However, the judge later reduced the award to $480,000, deeming it more appropriate given McDonald’s “willful, wanton, reckless,” and “callous” behavior.