Florida jury finds McDonald’s partially liable after girl suffered burns from chicken nugget
A McDonald’s franchisee has been found negligent after a scalding-hot Chicken McNugget burned a four-year-old girl’s thigh, leaving her “disfigured and scarred.”
A Florida jury found that neither the franchisee nor McDonald’s provided instructions for the food that would have prevented the girl’s injury.
Parents Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez sued the fast food giant and franchisee UpChurch Foods in 2019 for $15,000 because the restaurant served a chicken nugget that was “flawed, harmful and unfit for human intercourse.”
The jury is still out on how much McDonald’s and UpChurch Foods should pay the family.
According to the complaint, Holmes heard her then-four-year-old daughter Olivia scream in the back of the car as she exited a Broward County McDonald’s drive-thru after buying her a Happy Meal.
When she stopped, she found a hot chicken nugget between her daughter’s thigh and a seat belt, which had remained in contact with her skin for about two minutes, causing second-degree burns.
Philana Holmes said her daughter, who was four at the time, suffered second-degree burns after a chicken nugget fell on her leg
Holmes heard her then-four-year-old daughter Olivia scream in the back of the car as she exited a Broward County McDonald’s drive-thru
The jury reached a divided verdict on Thursday.
While it found negligence on the part of UpChurch Foods, it did not find negligence on the part of McDonald’s, which was a legal cause of loss, injury or damage to the girl.
Fischer Redavid PLLC, the law firm representing the parents, called the jury’s decision a “massive victory for a deserving family.”
“They remained patient and fought hard with us against a wealthy company for years: a jury unanimously ruled in favor of our client,” the company said in a statement on Facebook.
It added that the verdict was a “critical first step” for the family, which “has been dealing for years with the consequences of something that is – no doubt now – foreseeable, avoidable and should never have happened.”
It described Olivia as a “cute, innocent kid who was badly burned through no fault of her own.”
Fischer Redavid PLLC, the law firm representing the parents, called the jury’s decision a “massive victory for a deserving family.”
The franchisee previously told the court it must serve hot nuggets to meet food safety standards
Following the verdict, UpChurch Foods said in a statement that it was “disappointed” with the verdict and had followed protocols in serving the food.
Our condolences go out to this family for what happened during this unfortunate incident as we consider customer safety one of our highest priorities. Therefore, our restaurant follows strict rules in accordance with food safety best practices when it comes to cooking and serving our menu items, including Chicken McNuggets,” the statement said.
“We are deeply disappointed with today’s verdict as the facts show that our restaurant in Tamarac, Florida did indeed follow those protocols in cooking and serving this Happy Meal.
“Our community here in South Florida needs to be confident that we will continue to serve safe, high-quality meals, just as we have at Upchurch Management restaurants for more than 50 years.”
The franchisee had previously denied the allegations in court filings, saying they “have no responsibility for any injury or damage” the child “may have suffered.”
In a statement on Thursday, McDonald’s said it disagreed with the ruling.
“We take every complaint seriously, especially those about the safety of our food and the experience of our customers. Together with our franchisees, we have consistently served customers safe, high-quality food using strict policies and procedures for nearly 70 years,” the statement said.
“This was an unfortunate incident, but we respectfully disagree with the verdict. Our customers must continue to rely on McDonald’s to follow policies and procedures for the safe serving of Chicken McNuggets.”
The family said the scalding hot Chicken McNugget burned Olivia’s thigh, leaving her ‘disfigured and scarred’
Holmes said she heard her daughter scream in the backseat of the car after buying her a Happy Meal at a McDonald’s in Tamarac, Broward County
Jordan Redavid, representing the family of the burned child, took the iconic Happy Meal box to court and presented it to the judge
According to the lawsuit, Holmes went to the McDonald’s drive-thru in Tamarac on August 21, 2019 and ordered, among other things, a six-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal for her daughter.
“The Chicken McNuggets in that Happy meal were unreasonably and dangerously hot (in terms of temperature) and caused the skin and flesh around her thighs of Olivia Holmes to burn,” the lawsuit reads.
On Tuesday, attorney Jordan Redavid, who represents the family, filed an official report the iconic Happy Meal box, with its two golden arches for handles, to the court for presentation to the court.
“The reasonable, foreseeable, intended use is for a child to handle this box. The law implies a promise from a company to, in this case, a child,” he said.
“And if it’s preventable, it’s warnable, you have to warn someone about it, and if you don’t, you’re liable.”
His position was challenged by Scott Yount, a lawyer representing McDonald’s.
Mrs. Holmes bought 32 chicken McNuggets that day. the evidence will show that 31 of them had no problem with it,” he said in response.