A court has awarded a family $800,000 in damages from McDonald's after her daughter received second-degree burns from a piping hot chicken nugget that fell on her lap.
Back in 2019, a mother named Philana Holmes purchased Happy Meals at a drive-thru and passed the food to her children who were sitting in the back seat.
According to Daily Mail, Holmes said she was not warned that her food might be unusually hot so once her then-four-year-old daughter, Olivia Caraballo, began screaming in pain, she pulled into a parking lot and saw a burn.
The mother then took pictures of the sustained injuries, which were shown in court, and also revealed sound clips of Olivia's screams.
Lawyers for Olivia's family were seeking $15 million in damages and argued that the young girl deserved $ 5 million in damages for the last four years and an extra $ 10 million to cover the next 74 years due to the traumatizing incident.
"When we walk out of those doors, that’s it. We don’t get to come back and say let’s check on Olivia in five years, let’s check on her in 10 years… you have to do it now or you can never do it again," John Fischer, the family's attorney, said during closing arguments, per the outlet.
Meanwhile, the popular food franchise's legal team contended that the child's pain ended when the injury healed, which they alleged took about three weeks. They also accused the mother of being the one with the problem and told jurors that $156,000 should cover damages, both past and future.
"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," defense attorney Jennifer Miller said. "She’s not bothered by the injury. This is all the mom."
However, Holmes testified on Tuesday (July 18) that the now-eight-year-old girl nicknamed the scar on her inner thigh her "nugget" and is fixated on having it removed.
In May, The South Florida jury found that the restaurant chain and Upchurch Foods were responsible for failing to warn or provide instructions on the potential harm from the hot McNuggets dispensed at a Tamarac, Florida, drive-thru, as reported by CNN.
In addition to this, they also awarded the girl's family a total of $800,000 for pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, and loss of capacity for enjoyment of life on Wednesday (July 19).
That includes $400,000 for injuries sustained in the past and $400,000 for damages the jury determined will be sustained in 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, told reporters outside the courtroom, per ABC News. "I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me."
In a statement, attorneys for the family added: "This momentous decision brings meaningful closure to an arduous and protracted legal process. Having previously established the defendants, Upchurch Foods Inc and McDonald’s USA LLC, as liable for their wrongful actions, this verdict reaffirms that they must now face the consequences and provide full justice."
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