McDonald's guilty of a hot chicken McNugget burning a girl after falling from a 'happy meal'

Little Olivia Caraballo was enjoying a happy meal at a McDonald's in Florida (United States) when a hot chicken McNugget from her menu fell on her leg and caused second-degree burns that kept her in the hospital for a week.. Now both the chain of establishments and the franchise where the incident occurred have been found guilty in a case reminiscent of the famous hot coffee lawsuit of the 1990s.

The split jury decision Thursday found the franchise owner liable for negligence and failure to warn customers of the risk of hot food.. McDonald's USA was found guilty for failing to provide safe food handling instructions.

A second jury will determine the amount McDonald's USA and the franchise owner, Upchurch Foods, must pay the girl and her mother, the South Florida SunSentinel has reported.

“Our condolences to this family on this unfortunate incident, as we place customer safety one of our highest priorities,” McDonald's owner-operator Brent Upchurch said in a statement.. “We are deeply disappointed with today's verdict because the facts show that our restaurant in Tamarac, Florida did follow those protocols when cooking and serving this 'happy meal,'” he added.

A burn on the upper leg

For two days, the jurors heard different testimonies and arguments about the episode, which occurred in 2019, which left the girl, then four years old and with an autism spectrum disorder, with a burn on the upper part of her thigh.

Philana Holmes testified that she bought happy meals for her two children at a drive-thru at a McDonald's in the town of Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale, according to the SunSentinel.. After acquiring them, he gave the food to his children, who were in the back seat.

When he left, his daughter began to scream. The woman stated that she did not know what was wrong with her until she stopped to help the girl.. He saw the burn on the girl's leg and took photos on his iPhone, which included audio tracks of the girl's screams.. The sound of the little girl's screams was played in court, though Olivia did not testify.

The girl's parents filed a lawsuit, alleging that McDonald's and the franchise owner failed to properly train employees, failed to warn customers of the “dangerous” temperatures of the food, and cooked the food at a very high temperature. higher than necessary.

For their part, McDonald's lawyers pointed out that the food had to be hot to avoid salmonella poisoning and that the nuggets were not expected to end up being pressed between the seatbelt and human flesh for more than two minutes.