McDonald's and one of its franchise holders were found responsible after a girl suffered second-degree burns on her leg from a hot Chicken McNugget that fell off a Happy Meal box.
A jury found the franchise holder negligent for not warning customers about hot food and McDonald's at fault for not providing instructions for the safe handling of the food.
The family's lawyers argued that the temperature of the nugget was above 200 degrees Fahrenheit, while the defence argued it was no more than 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
“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," 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 indeed follow those protocols when cooking and serving this Happy Meal.”
Philana Holmes testified that she bought Happy Meals for her son and then-4-year-old daughter at a drive-thru window at a McDonald's in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale, the SunSentinel reported. She handed the food to her children, who were in the back seat.
After she drove away, her daughter started screaming. The mother testified she didn't know what was wrong until she pulled over to help the girl, Olivia Caraballo, who is now seven, the newspaper reported.
She saw the burn on the girl's leg and took photos on her iPhone, which included audio clips of the child's screams.
The sound of the girl's screams was played in court. The child, who is autistic, did not testify.
A second jury will determine how much McDonald's USA and its franchise owner, Upchurch Foods, will pay the child and her mother, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.
The case is likely to stoke memories of the McDonald's coffee lawsuit of the 1990s, which became an urban legend of sorts about seemingly frivolous lawsuits, even though a jury and judge had found it anything but.
A New Mexico jury awarded Stella Liebeck, 81, $2.7 million in punitive damages after she was scalded in 1992 by hot coffee from McDonald’s that spilt onto her lap, burning her legs, groin and buttocks, as she tried to steady the cup with her legs while prying the lid off to add cream outside a drive-thru.
She suffered third-degree burns and spent more than a week in the 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 of McDonald’s.
