A Florida girl, who was burned by a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget in 2019, will receive a McBag after a jury awarded her $800,000 in damages.
Olivia Carabello was just 4 years old when she and her mother, Philana Holmes, pulled up to a McDonald’s drive-thru in Tamarac, Florida, to get her a Happy Meal.
As Philana pulled away from the drive-thru, one of the hot Chicken McNuggets fell on Olivia’s leg.
Philana Holmes said her daughter screamed in pain and when she pulled over in a parking lot she realized the nugget was lodged between Olivia’s thigh and the seat belt.
Olivia suffered second-degree burns from the hot McNugget and still has a scar.
Philana testified that at no point did McDonald’s warn her that the food may be unusually hot.
Initially, lawyers for Olivia and her family were seeking $15 million in damages.
Lawyers for McDonald’s argued that Olivia’s trauma ended when the burn healed three weeks later and $156,000 should cover the damages, both past and future.
In her closing argument, defense attorney Jennifer Miller said
She’s still going to McDonald’s, she still asks to go to McDonald’s, she’s still driving through the drive-thru with her mom, getting chicken nuggets.
She’s not bothered by the injury.
This is all the mom.
The jury had other plans.
After deliberating for less than two hours on Wednesday, they allotted $400,00 in damages for the past four years, and another $400,000 for the future from McDonald’s.
“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.”
Watch the “Good Morning America” coverage of the case below.
Olivia, now 8, calls the scar on her inner thigh her “nugget” and she is fixated on having it removed.
She’s still growing and the scar may decrease in appearance over the years.
But, if it’s still there when she’s an adult…she has the McBag to remove it.
Please be extra careful and check the temps before giving your little ones food – fast or home-cooked.
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Source: ABC News
