A Florida court has ordered mega food chain McDonald’s to cough up $800,000 to a family who said their 4-year-old daughter sustained second-degree burns when a chicken nugget fell on her leg as her mother pulled off from a drive-thru window.
The incident took place in 2019 when Olivia Caraballo of Tamarac was injured. On Wednesday, jurors agreed that her family deserved $400,000 in damages in addition to another $400,000 for the future from McDonald’s and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods, according to a South Florida SunSentinel report.
The verdict was reached after a jury deliberated and found that the franchise was liable for the injury.
After the verdict was reached, Caraballo’s mother, Philana Holmes, said that the judgment was “fair.”
“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 courthouse. “I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me.”
On Tuesday, the victim’s mother said that a scar still appears on her daughter’s inner thigh and plans to have it removed. She initially requested $15 million in damages.
During testimony, she said that she ordered Happy Meals for her son and daughter who were sitting in the back seat of her vehicle when her daughter yelped in pain. She then found that a nugget was sandwiched in between her daughter’s thigh and the seat belt.
She then shared audio clips of her daughter crying in pain and shared photos of the burn. The mother claimed that the restaurant failed to warn her about how hot the food was.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s legal team argued that Caraballo’s injuries healed three weeks after the incident took place and the pain subsided. At the time, they said they were willing to pay $156,000 to cover damages.
“She’s still going to McDonald’s, she still asks to go to McDonald’s, she’s still driving through the drive-thru with her mom, getting chicken nuggets,” defense attorney Jennifer Miller said in her closing argument. “She’s not bothered by the injury. This is all the mom.”
In a 1992 landmark case, 81-year-old Stella Liebeck sued McDonald’s for $2.7 million in punitive damages after she was burned after a McDonald’s coffee spilled on her, leading her to suffer third-degree burns. She spent more than a week in the hospital.
When the case went to trial, a judge awarded her $480,000, which he said was appropriate for the restaurant’s “willful, wanton, reckless” and “callous” behavior.
