Philana Holmes Lawsuit: Olivia Caraballo Parents Rewarded $800K By McDonalds

Publish date: 2024-05-01

Philana Holmes Lawsuit rewards $800K for Olivia Caraballo after being burned from a hot chicken nugget. Stay till the end to know more.

A jury in South Florida awarded $800,000 in damages to a little girl who got second-degree burns after a hot Chicken McNugget dropped on her calf as her mother drove away from a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Olivia Caraballo’s family sought $15 million in damages after she was burnt as a child in 2019.

Moreover, the jury decided after less than two hours of deliberation on Wednesday, according to the South Florida SunSentinel.

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Philana Holmes Lawsuit: Olivia Caraballo Parents Rewarded $800K

The jury’s judgment form fined McDonald’s USA and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods, $400,000 in damages for the previous four years and an additional $400,000 for the future.

In May, a different jury found the firm and franchise owner accountable for the injuries outside a McDonald’s in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale.

“I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,” said Olivia’s mother, Philana Holmes.

“I’m pleased with it. I had no expectations, so this is more than enough,” she added.

She testified that Olivia refers to the scar on her inner thigh as her “nugget” and has trouble removing it.

McDonald’s lawyers contended that the child’s suffering ceased after the cut healed, which they estimated took roughly three weeks.

They claimed that the girl’s mother caused the scar.

Moreover, they urged jurors that $156,000 should compensate for both past and future losses.

Defense attorney Jennifer Miller said, “She’s still going to McDonald’s. She asks to go to McDonald’s.”

Similarly, on Wednesday, during her closing argument. She added, “She hasn’t been disturbed by the injuries. It’s all thanks to Mom.”

According to court filings filed in Broward County, Philana Holmes’ attorneys sought $15 million in damages for her pain and suffering.

During the May trial, all sides agreed that the nugget caused the burns.

However, the family’s lawyers claimed the temperature was above 200 degrees (93 Celsius), while the defense said it was no more than 160 degrees.

In court, photos of the burn taken by the mother and sound recordings of the child’s screaming were shown.

Philana Holmes Clarify what happened in Mcdonalds

Holmes said that she bought Happy Meals for her son and daughter, who were in the back seat and was driving away when the nugget dropped on the child’s leg.

She claimed the youngster yelled in agony, and when she pulled over in a parking lot, she discovered the nugget had become wedged between Oliva’s leg and the seat belt.

The mother said that McDonald’s never warned her that the meal would be extremely hot.

The firm stated that they follow food safety regulations requiring McNuggets to be hot enough to avoid bacterial contamination.

She also mentioned what happens to the food once it leaves the drive-thru window is out of their hands.

The case may bring up memories of the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit from the 1990s, which established an urban legend about appearing frivolous claims even though a jury and court determined it to be anything but.

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