An eight-year-old girl who was badly burned by a hot chicken nugget has won $800,000 in damages from McDonald's.
CBS News reports that in 2019, when Olivia Caraballo was four years old, her mother had taken Olivia and her brother to a McDonald’s drive-through in Tamarac, Florida to buy Happy Meals for the kids. When Philana Holmes pulled away from the restaurant, one of the chicken nuggets fell onto Olivia’s leg and burned her.
Olivia’s family was originally seeking $15 million in damages. The jury deliberated for less than two hours on Wednesday before handing over their verdict: McDonald’s USA and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods, would pay the family $400,000 in damages for the last four years, and $400,000 for the future.
"I'm actually just happy that they listened to Olivia's voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment," Holmes said outside the courtroom. "I'm happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me."
She told jurors that she gave the Happy Meal to Olivia, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, and a nugget fell on her daughter’s leg, becoming lodged between her thigh and seat belt. Holmes shared that Olivia is obsessed with having the scar removed, which she calls her “nugget.” Included in evidence were images of Olivia’s burns and sound clips of her screaming after getting hurt.
McDonald’s legal team pushed back, saying that the child was only in pain as the injury was healing, which took around three weeks. McDonald’s contended that the nugget’s temperature was a maximum of 160 degrees, while the family said it was 200 degrees. The defense argued that $156,000 should be enough compensation for 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," McDonald's defense attorney, Jennifer Miller told jurors. "She's not bothered by the injury. This is all the mom."
Back in May, a different jury determined that the company and franchise owner were responsible for the incident. That same month, Upchurch Foods issued a statement regarding the chain’s cooking and serving protocols.
"Our sympathies go out to this family for what occurred in this unfortunate incident, as we hold customer safety as one of our highest priorities,” the statement read. “That's why our restaurant follows strict rules in accordance with food safety best practices when it comes to cooking and serving our menu items, including Chicken McNuggets.”
