July 20th 2023.
Olivia Caraballo was only four years old when she sustained second-degree burns from a chicken McNugget in her McDonald's Happy Meal. Now, a Broward County jury has awarded her and her family $800,000 for her injuries.
It all began when Olivia and her mother Philana Holmes visited a Florida McDonald's in 2019. Philana handed the Happy Meal to Olivia, and two minutes later heard her scream. Upon investigating, Philana realized a nugget had fallen onto Olivia's lap and scalded her thigh, leaving it disfigured and scarred.
In their lawsuit against McDonald's and the Florida franchisee Upchurch Foods, Inc, Holmes and the girl's father, Humberto Caraballo, claimed the McNuggets were served at a dangerously hot 200 degrees. The family's lawyer, Jordan Redavid, said: "The law implies a promise from a corporation to, in this case, a child. And if it is preventable, it's warnable, you should warn someone about it, and if you don't do that then you're liable".
The family initially sought $15 million from the fast food giant. Lawyers for McDonald's argued that the food is served at high temperatures to avoid salmonella poisoning and is not intended to be pressed against human flesh. However, jurors found Upchurch Foods Inc. to be negligent due to their failure to warn customers about the potential risk of burns. They also determined that McDonald's failed to provide proper instructions to their franchises on the safe handling of their food items.
It took four years for Olivia and her parents to receive any form of justice, but Philana is just happy her daughter's voice was heard. She said: "I'm actually just happy they listened to Olivia's voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment, I'm happy with that."
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