Florida Judge Grants Civil Lawsuit Over Hot Spilled Chicken McNugget

 

(iStock)

By:

Team of Hukumindo

Previously, the www.hukumindo.com platform has talk about "Contoh Surat Kuasa Untuk Membawa Dokumen Perusahaan", "Be Careful Using AI, You Will be in Trouble for Citing Non-existent Jurisprudence", you may read also "45 Indonesian Citizens Become Victims of Scammer Companies in Laos" and on this occasion we will discuss about 'Florida Judge Grants Civil Lawsuit Over Hot Spilled Chicken McNugget'.

A Florida jury awarded $800,000 in damages to a 7-year-old girl on Wednesday for the suffering and mental anguish caused when a Chicken McNugget fell on her thigh, causing a second-degree burn. The burn happened in 2019 when she was visiting a McDonald’s at age 4, and the case drew comparisons to a famous, and successful, lawsuit against the fast-food chain by a woman who was scalded by hot coffee more than 30 years ago. The jury in Broward County awarded the girl, Olivia Caraballo, the damages for pain, suffering and other forms of mental anguish — $400,000 for the pain she endured and an additional $400,000 for any future suffering resulting from the injury, according to court documents. Lawyers for the family had asked for $15 million.[1]

The suit was brought in state court by Olivia’s parents, Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez, against McDonald’s and Upchurch Foods, the franchise operator in Tamarac, Fla. In May, a separate jury determined that the two companies were liable for failing to provide reasonable instructions or warnings — on the packaging, for example — about the risks of injuries that could result from a Chicken McNuggets meal, which comes with pieces of white chicken meat. As of Thursday, it was not clear whether lawyers for McDonald’s and Upchurch Foods were going to appeal the decision. McDonald’s lawyers declined to comment. The lawyers for Upchurch Foods did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment. Under Florida law, they have 15 days to seek a new trial or 30 days to appeal.[2]

Jordan Redavid, the lead counsel for the family, said that the jury’s decision amounted to “full justice” for Olivia. “For years, the defendants said we didn’t have a case and that they had no liability,” Mr. Redavid said. The awarded damages were much more than the $156,000 that lawyers for McDonald’s had proposed to the jury in their closing remarks, he added. In August 2019, Ms. Holmes ordered a six-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal for Olivia at a McDonald’s drive-through in Tamarac, a city northwest of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. After she handed the nuggets to her daughter in the back seat, one piece fell on Olivia’s lap, leaving her thigh “disfigured and scarred,” according to the initial lawsuit. On Thursday, Ms. Holmes said in a telephone interview that she was “satisfied with the decision” and was glad that the jury considered her daughter’s pain.[3] And if you have any legal issue in Indonesia territory, contact us then, feel free in 24 hour, we will be glad to assist you. 

*) For further information please contact:

Mahmud Kusuma Advocate

Law Office

Jakarta - Indonesia.

E-mail: mahmudkusuma22@gmail.com

________________

References:

1. "Jury Awards $800,000 to a Girl Burned by a Chicken McNugget", www.nytimes.com., Diakses pada tanggal 29 Juli 2023, Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/us/mcdonalds-nugget-lawsuit-florida.html

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.