A US jury has found McDonald’s and a franchisee liable after a Florida couple claimed their child was burned by “dangerously hot” chicken nuggets.
The couple claim their four-year-old daughter suffered second-degree burns after the nugget became lodged between her thigh and seatbelt.
The family is seeking $15,000 in damages; a second trial will determine how much they receive.
McDonald’s has been found liable after a Florida couple claimed their four-year-old daughter burned herself on a hot chicken nugget.
A US jury returned a split verdict, finding McDonald’s and franchisee Upchurch Foods liable for failure to provide instructions for safe handling of hot food. The jury found Upchurch Foods, but not McDonald’s, to be negligent.
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“This is a crucial first step for Olivia and her parents, who for years have grappled with the fallout of something that was — now beyond doubt — predictable and avoidable and should never have happened,” said family attorney Jordan Redavid of Fischer Redavid, to Insider.
Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez of Broward County, Fla. are seeking $15,000 in damages. A second jury will decide how much they will receive.
“This was an unfortunate incident”
“We take every complaint seriously, especially those relating to the safety of our food and our customers’ experiences. Together with our franchisees, we have consistently served our customers safe, high-quality food while employing strict policies and procedures for nearly 70 years,” McDonald’s said in a statement across from Local 10 in Miami: “This was an unfortunate incident, but we do not agree with the verdict. Our customers should continue to be confident that McDonald’s is following policies and procedures for safely serving Chicken McNuggets.”
“Our condolences go out to the family at this unfortunate incident as the safety of our customers is our top priority,” franchise operator Brent Upchurch told Local 10 Comply with food safety best practices when preparing and serving our menu items, including Chicken McNuggets.”
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“We are deeply disappointed with today’s ruling because the facts show that our restaurant in Tamarac, Fla. did follow those protocols in the preparation and serving of this Happy Meal,” added Upchurch. “Our community here in South Florida should be able to rest assured that we will continue to serve safe, quality meals, just as we have done at Upchurch Management’s restaurants for more than 50 years.”
The burns left the girl “disfigured and scarred.”
In the court documents, Holmes said the injury happened after she bought her four-year-old daughter a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Tamarac in 2019.
Holmes described giving her daughter the meal and driving away before hearing the child in the back seat of the car “let out a real scream”. The four-year-old was eating a Chicken McNugget when it fell and was pinned between her thigh and the seat belt for nearly two minutes, the lawsuit says.
The burns left the girl “disfigured and scarred,” the lawsuit says.
“The Chicken McNuggets in the Happy Meal were unreasonably and dangerously hot and resulted in the victim’s skin and flesh being burned on the thighs,” the lawsuit states Sun Sentinel present.
The four-year-old was not named in the court documents and will not testify.
Caraballo Estevez told the court on Tuesday that his daughter still has the scar on her leg, reported DailyMail.com. Though the scar no longer bothers her, she sometimes refers to it as “her chicken nugget,” he added.
McDonald’s and Upchurch did not immediately respond to an Insider request.
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