Fast food giant McDonald’s and one of its franchise holders have been found at fault for the second-degree burns suffered by a young girl after a hot Chicken McNugget fell on her leg.
A jury in South Florida heard two days of testimony and arguments about a 2019 incident that left a four-year-old girl with a serious burn on her upper thigh.
Philana Holmes testified that she bought Happy Meals for her son and daughter at a drive-thru window at a McDonald’s in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale.
She said she passed a bag of fast food to her children in the backseat and while driving away her daughter began screaming. Holmes pulled into a nearby parking lot and that’s when she discovered the burn, caused when a nugget fell from the bag.
The suit alleged the “unreasonably and dangerously hot” nuggets caused the girl’s skin and flesh around her thighs to burn when it became lodged between the girl’s car seat and her leg.
Lawyers argued the restaurant should have known the nuggets “were not fit for human handling with bare skin by their intended customer.”
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the mom took photos and video of her daughter’s burns. Audio of the child’s screams was played in court. The girl, who has autism, did not testify.
NBC affiliate WTVJ reports that McDonald’s and franchise owner Upchurch Foods argued they were not responsible for the burns.
The jury’s decision was split, ultimately finding that while the two businesses were not negligent, they were at fault for not including warnings on the food.
Both companies expressed their disappointment and disagreement with the ruling.
“We take every complaint seriously and certainly those that involve the safety of our food and the experiences of our customers,” the McDonald’s statement reads, according to The Associated Press.
“Together with our franchisees, for nearly 70 years, we have consistently served customers safe, high-quality food using strict policies and procedures. This was an unfortunate incident, but we respectfully disagree with the verdict.”
“Our sympathies go out to this family for what occurred in this unfortunate incident, as we hold customer safety as one of our highest priorities,” owner-operator Brent Upchurch said in a separate statement. “We are deeply disappointed with today’s verdict because the facts show that our restaurant in Tamarac, Fla., did indeed follow those protocols when cooking and serving this Happy Meal.”
A second jury will determine how much each party will pay the child and her mother, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The case is reminiscent of the famous hot coffee lawsuit in 1992 that captured headlines around the world.
In that suit, 81-year-old Stella Liebeck was awarded US$2.7 million in punitive damages after she was scalded by a hot McDonald’s coffee that spilled onto her lap while she tried to steady the cup with her legs while removing the lid outside a New Mexico drive-thru.
The coffee caused third-degree burns to her groin, legs and buttocks and she spent more than a week in hospital.
She had initially asked McDonald’s for $20,000 to cover hospital expenses, but the company went to trial. A judge later reduced the $2.7 million award to $480,000, which he said was appropriate for the “willful, wanton, reckless” and “callous” behaviour by McDonald’s.
— With files from The Associated Press