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McDonald’s was found liable late Friday for a “dangerously hot” chicken nugget that caused a child to suffer second-degree burns, following a case that drew comparisons to another lawsuit against the fast food restaurant involving coffee nearly 20 years ago.
The chicken nugget reached over 200 degrees, according to attorneys representing the child’s family.
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Key Facts
Philana Holmes drove her 4-year-old daughter Olivia to a Tamarac, Florida, McDonald’s in 2019, before Olivia subsequently suffered second-degree burns on her thighs after a chicken nugget fell onto her legs, according to law firm Fischer Redavid, leaving her “disfigured and scarred.”
A South Florida jury ruled McDonald’s and franchise owner Upchurch Foods were liable for failing to warn about possible harm from the nuggets, according to WPLG, though Upchurch—not McDonald’s—was found negligent for causing the burns.
Attorneys representing McDonald’s argued the nuggets—which Holmes’ attorneys said reached over 200 degrees—were hot in order to avoid salmonella poisoning, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
A second trial will be held to determine damages owed to Holmes, which Fischer Redavid expects to start later in the year.
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Holmes and her husband, Humberto Caraballo Estevez, said they received “negative public sentiment” after some drew comparisons to a 1994 lawsuit against McDonald’s, in which a 79-year-old woman sued after a coffee spilled onto her lap, resulting in third-degree burns—and won $2.7 million in damages.
That lawsuit “set an important legal precedent” that allowed Holmes’ case to succeed, Fischer Redavid said, specifically for “safe food handling methods” for serving food at an “unreasonably high temperature.”
Crucial Quote
“This is not the infamous hot coffee case, this is Olivia’s case,” Fischer Redavid said in a statement, adding, “She’s an adorable, innocent child who was severely burned through no fault of her own.”
Tangent
Holmes’ civil suit against McDonald’s is not the first against the fast food chain since Liebeck’s case. Frank Sutton, a Florida-based carnival operator, sued McDonald’s for $2 million in 2005 after he claimed a fried chicken sandwich caused him to suffer burns to his mouth and lips. The case was dismissed in 2008, after a judge ruled he could have tested the temperature of the sandwich before eating it. An appeals court later allowed the case to continue in 2010, after Sutton said his lips were still scarred from the incident. Sutton settled the case a few months later. In 2018, an Oregon woman sued McDonald’s for $1.56 million after she claimed her 14-year-old daughter was served water at a “dangerous temperature,” which caused her to suffer “partial thickness burns” after it spilled onto her. The case was settled in 2020, according to Multonomah County court records.
Further Reading
McDonald’s Found Liable After Child Suffers Burns From ‘Hot’ Chicken Nuggets, Florida Jury Finds (CNN)
McDonald’s Found Liable For Girl’s Burns From Chicken Nuggets (Sun Sentinel)
