A family received closure several years after a frightening incident that took place after a visit to a McDonald’s in Tamarac, Florida. According to South Florida news station NBC6, the fast food chain was ordered to pay the family $800,000 in damages after their daughter was burned by an “unreasonably” hot Chicken McNugget.
Back in 2019, the child’s mother, Philana Holmes, purchased Happy Meals for herself and her then four-year-old daughter, Olivia Caraballo. Upon receiving her drive-thru order, Holmes handed one of the meals to her daughter.
Shortly after, one of the McNuggets, which was said to be “unreasonably and dangerously” hot, became stuck in the child’s car seat and burned her leg, causing second-degree burns.
In May 2023, a jury found that McDonald’s and the franchise owners were at fault for the incident. And in July 2023, a jury was tasked with deciding how much they thought the family should receive in damages. Of the $15 million the family asked for, they were granted $800,000 by the jury.
Despite receiving far less than what they requested, Holmes revealed that she was pleased with the outcome.
“I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me. I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgement. I’m happy with that,” she said while speaking with NBC6.
Holmes also expressed her hope that McDonald’s will eventually offer some kind of warning for parents when it comes to hot food.
“Hopefully they’ll put warning signs on the nugget boxes so parents will know. And just in the future for parents to be more aware. Don’t just take someone’s word for it that it’s warm. It could possibly be hot,” Holmes said.
In 1994, a 79-year-old woman spilled extraordinarily hot McDonald’s coffee on herself and suffered third-degree burns. According to Vox, “She just wanted McDonald’s to pay her medical expenses, estimated at $20,000. McDonald’s only offered $800, leading her to file a lawsuit.” She ended up settling for less than $600,000.
