FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida jury on Wednesday awarded $800,000 to a Florida girl who received second-degree burns from a Chicken McNugget four years ago.
The jury in Broward County deliberated less than two hours before deciding that McDonaldβs and a franchise owner must pay $400,000 in damages to cover 8-year-old Olivia Caraballo for the past four years and $400,000 for her future, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Attorneys for the girl and her parents, Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Esteves, had sought $15 million in damages after the then-4-year-old child was scalded on the leg after receiving a Happy Meal. The incident occurred at a McDonaldβs drive-thru in Tamarac in September 2019, the newspaper reported. Attorneys for the restaurant, Upchurch Foods, and the parent company of the fast-food giant, McDonaldβs USA, told jurors on Tuesday that the injuries suffered by the girl healed in three weeks.
Jury awards $800,000 in damages to 4-year-old girl burned by McDonaldβs chicken nugget https://t.co/mtdNvt00Rx pic.twitter.com/VcxJaSAjlC
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) July 19, 2023
βIβm actually just happy that they listened to Oliviaβs voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,β Holmes told reporters outside the courtroom Wednesday. βIβm happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me.β
βThis is a verdict for all time,β John Fischer, an attorney for the family, said in his closing argument Wednesday, according to the Sun-Sentinel. βWhen we walk out of those doors, thatβs it. We donβt get to come back and say letβs check on Olivia in five years, letβs check on her in 10 years β¦ you have to do it now or you can never do it again.β
[ Florida family seeks $15M for 4-year-old girl burned by Chicken McNugget ]
Attorneys for McDonaldβs contended that the girlβs discomfort ended when the wound healed, adding that $156,000 should cover her past and future, according to the newspaper.
βSheβs still going to McDonaldβs, she still asks to go to McDonaldβs, sheβs still driving through the drive-through with her mom, getting chicken nuggets,β defense attorney Jennifer Miller said in her closing argument. βSheβs not bothered by the injury. This is all the mom.β
In May, a separate jury determined that Upchurch Foods, Inc. and McDonaldβs USA were to blame for the childβs injury.
[ McNugget burn lawsuit verdict reached ]
According to the lawsuit, Holmes went to the McDonaldβs drive-thru in Tamarac on Aug. 21, 2019, and ordered a six-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal for her daughter, WPLG-TV reported.
According to Holmesβ pretrial deposition, the child had dropped a nugget on her lap, which became stuck between her thigh and the vehicleβs seat belt, the television station reported.
The food remained lodged for about two minutes and left the girl βdisfigured and scarred,β according to court documents. She allegedly suffered second-degree burns.
[ Parents sue McDonaldβs after toddler suffers severe burn from Chicken McNugget ]
Neither side disputed that the nugget had caused the girlβs burns, according to the newspaper.
A plastic surgeon hired by defense attorneys said that the treatment for the girlβs burns, including a surgical βrevisionβ of the scar, would cost $4,708, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Lawyers for McDonaldβs declined to comment after the verdict, according to the newspaper. The companyβs representative who appeared in court, Melina Hipskind, also declined comment.







