US: Girl awarded $800,000 in damages for McDonald's Chicken McNugget that burned her, rules jury
McDonald's
A jury in South Florida, US on Friday (July 21) awarded $800,000 in damages to the family of a little girl after she suffered second-degree burns when a flaming-hot McDonald's Chicken McNugget fell on her thigh in 2019. Her family had sought $15 million in damages.
The decision to award the money comes a little more than two months after the jury found McDonald's and its franchise holder, Upchurch, liable for the ordeal suffered by the girl.
The family was awarded$400,000 for the suffering and mental anguish suffered in the past four years as well as$400,000 for the future, according to BBC.
"I'm actually just happy that they listened to Olivia's voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment," said the girl's motherPhilana Holmes.
"I'm happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me."
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The 2019 incident
The incident took place in August 2019 when Holmes took her son and daughter to a Tamarac McDonald’s and bought the Happy Meals. However, she was given no warning that the food might be scalding. After receiving the food from the drive-thru window, she passed it along to her daughter and son in the back seat and drove away.
Her daughter, Olivia, an autistic child who was four years old at the time, did not testify during the trial. However, according to Holmes' version, she did not realise at first why her daughter was screaming in the back.
Upon pulling up into a nearby parking lot to help the child, she noticed the burn and took photos on her iPhone, which included audio clips of the child’s screams.
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Both the photo and the audio were presented during the trial. The attorneys representing the fast-food giant, however, argued that food had to be hot to avoid salmonella poisoning. They added that nuggets were not meant to be pressed between a seat belt and human flesh for more than two minutes.
Though both sides agreed that the nugget was the cause of the burns, the family's lawyers argued that the temperature was above 93 Celsius while McDonald's said it was no more than 71 Celsius.
The case is reminiscent of the 1992 Stella Liebeck case when she received $2.7 million in punitive damages after a McDonald's hot coffee spilled into her lap - burning her legs, groin and buttocks.
(With inputs from agencies)
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