Florida jury awards 8-year-old girl $800k due to McDonald’s burn injury caused by Chicken McNugget

In Florida, an eight-year-old girl named Olivia Caraballo was recently awarded $800,000 in damages due to severe burn injuries caused by a McDonald's Chicken McNugget that fell on her leg.

Back in 2019 in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the young girl, only 4 years old, experienced an incident where a Chicken McNugget from her Happy Meal fell on her leg, resulting in a scar. The incident occurred while they were in their car at a McDonald's drive-thru.

The family had initially sought $15 million in damages, claiming that the McNugget was "dangerously hot" and caused harm to the minor.

The Florida jury granted Olivia compensation based on the pain, suffering, and emotional distress she endured due to the incident. The awarded amount totalled $800,000, with $400,000 covering the past four years and an additional $400,000 for future damages.

The jury reached this decision after the family's legal team presented evidence, including photographs of the burn and an audio recording of Olivia's screams at the moment the McNugget fell on her leg.

In their defence, McDonald's argued that the appropriate compensation should be $156,000, claiming that Olivia's pain ended once the burn healed within three weeks. The outlet's lawyer also pointed out that Olivia continued to visit McDonald's and consume chicken nuggets despite the incident.

The mother of the young girl, Olivia, referred to the legal decision as a "momentous" event and expressed her contentment to the US media after the court proceedings saying she was “just happy.” She mentioned that she had no specific expectations regarding the outcome but found the awarded compensation to be fair.

Regarding Olivia's burn injury and the resulting scar, the mother revealed that Olivia was willing to undergo a procedure to have the scar removed.