Olivia Caraballo was four years old when she burned herself on a piece of chicken bought at McDonald’s in 2019. On Wednesday, a jury in Broward ordered the restaurant chain and its franchisee to pay a total of $800,000 (equivalent to PLN 3.19 million) in damages to the family of the injured girl.
The dispute between the Caraballo family and the fast food restaurant chain dates back to 2019, when a 4-year-old girl burned her leg with a piece of McDonald’s chicken. According to the girl’s mother Philany Holmes, the hot McNuggets fell out of the child’s hand and got stuck between Olivia’s leg and the seat belt. The girl suffered second-degree burns. According to her mother, none of the restaurant staff warned her that the food could be that hot.
In May this year, a jury ruled that both McDonald’s and its local franchisee were liable for the damage suffered by the girl four years ago. On Wednesday, in a separate verdict, jurors ordered the company and franchisee Upchurch Foods Incorporated to pay a total of $800,000 to the victim’s parents.
The family demanded 15 million
During Wednesday’s trial, McDonald’s lawyers argued that the girl’s discomfort ended as soon as her wound healed and it was not her, but her mother, who felt aggrieved because of the scar left on the child’s body. – (Olivia Caraballo) still goes to McDonalds, still asks her mother to take her there. He still goes to McNuggets with his mother. It’s not her burn scar that bothers her, but her mother, argued in the courtroom, quoted by NBC News, attorney Jennifer Miller. In her opinion, the amount of damages should be 156 thousand dollars. The girl’s family demanded $15 million.
The jurors, after deliberating for less than two hours, decided to award the family of now 8-year-old Olivia $800,000 in damages. “I’m just happy that Olivia’s voice was heard and the jury reached a fair verdict,” the girl’s mother told reporters after the trial. The restaurant’s defenders declined to comment to US media.
Main photo source: bearlyam / Shutterstock.com