McDonald's to pay $1 million to girl, 7, burned by McNugget
A court in the US awarded US$800,000 (S$1.06 million) to a little girl after she received second-degree burns from a piping hot McNugget that fell on her lap in 2019 from a local McDonald's franchise.
The Florida jury awarded the girl, Olivia Caraballo, 7, the damages for pain, suffering and other forms of mental anguish after a verdict that took less than two hours of deliberation on Wednesday afternoon.
They allotted US$400,000 in damages for the past four years, and US$400,000 for the future, reported the Daily Mail. The family's attorney had asked for an award of US$15 million.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2019, alleged that “unreasonably and dangerously” hot chicken nuggets were served in the meal, and caused the skin and flesh around then-4-year-old Olivia's thighs to burn.
Olivia’s mother, Ms Philana Holmes, testified that she bought Happy Meals for her daughter and son, and passed the food to them in the back seat before driving away. She said she was not warned that her food might be unusually hot.
When Olivia began screaming in pain, Ms Holmes pulled into a parking lot, where she saw the burn. She snapped some pictures of it, which were shown in court, in addition to sound clips of Olivia's screams, said the Daily Mail.
Lawyers for the fast-food chain argued Olivia's pain and discomfort ended when her wound healed, which they claimed took three weeks. They said US$156,000 would be sufficient to cover past and future costs related to the incident.
'She’s still going to McDonalds, she still asks to go to McDonald’s, she’s still driving through the drive-through with her mum, getting chicken nuggets. She’s not bothered by the injury. This is all the mum,” said defence attorney Jennifer Miller.
The burn eventually transformed into a small, raised scar that does not cause the child any physical pain. But her lawyers argued that the pain has turned into emotional suffering.
The incident is similar to the famous 1994 case where Ms Stella Liebeck was burned by hot coffee from McDonald's. In that case, McDonald's was ordered to pay nearly US$3 million, but the exact figure was later settled during appeal.
Ms Holmes said she was happy that the court had been receptive to her daughter's story, adding she felt the jury's award was fair.
She said Olivia calls the scar on her inner thigh her “nugget” and hopes to get it removed.
McDonald's legal team declined to comment following the verdict.
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