OAN’s Shawntel Smith-Hill
2:03 PM – Thursday, July 20, 2023
A Florida family was awarded $800,000 in damages by a South Florida jury. They ruled in favor of the family after McDonald’s steaming hot chicken nuggets left a young girl with severe second-degree burns.
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Lawyers for the family of 4-year-old Olivia Caraballo were originally seeking $15 million in damages after she suffered the burns back in 2019.
The lawsuit cited that the “unreasonably and dangerously” hot chicken nuggets were a part of a McDonald’s Happy Meal that inflicted wounds to Caraballo’s thigh. Caraballo’s parents claim their daughter got the burns after a hot Chicken McNugget dropped on her leg while she sitting in the back of her parents’ car at the local establishment’s drive-thru.
Jurors reached a verdict on Wednesday, awarding the family $400,000 in damages for the past four years of her life and an additional $400,000 for any ongoing issues in the future.
After deliberating for less than two hours, jurors were quick to find fault with the franchise.
“I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,” Olivia’s mother, Philana Holmes, told reporters outside the courtroom.
“I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me.”
McDonalds defense attorneys refused to immediately respond to any requests for comment.
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