A young girl and her family were awarded an $800,000 payout after the (at the time of the incident, five-year-old), Olivia was burned by a McNugget that came with her Happy Meal.
The lawsuit had been filed in 2019 with the family seeking a sum of $15 million dollars for damages. A separate jury in May found the McDonald’s in Florida, and the franchise owner responsible for the injury.
This past Wednesday, jurors came to a verdict awarding the family with $400,000 for the past four years, and another $400,000 for the “future.”
Lawsuit Filed in 2019
In 2019, Olivia, and her mother, Philana Holmes had visited a McDonald’s drive-thru, and ordered food, specifically, a Happy Meal for, Olivia.
As Philana was driving away, a piping hot McNugget fell onto Olivia’s leg while she was sitting in the backseat. Her mother heard her daughter’s scream, and pulled over to investigate.
She discovered a McNugget was lodged between Olivia’s leg, and her seatbelt. It was scalding hot, aanf leaving a mark.
The “unreasonably and dangerously hot” McNugget caused a second-degree burn on the girl’s leg.
“Fixated on the Scar”
The lawsuit argued that staff should’ve warned them about the unusually hot food as they were being served.
An area of contention was the resulting scar from the burn, bothered Olivia, who called the scar her leg, a “nugget”, and “fixated on having it removed.”
The burn injury took about three weeks to heal. A defense attorney for McDonald’s argued that $156,000 should “cover damages”, and removal of the scar- if that’s what Olivia desired
Olivia’s mother on the verdict: “I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgement. I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair with me.”
Defense attorney, Jennifer Miller representing McDonald’s argued that it was the girl’s mother who was “bothered by the scar saying, “This is all the mom.”
“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.”
McDonald’s has faced multiple lawsuits over the years, some frivolous, and some with merit. One woman claimed she was served a “cup full of chemicals” in 2021, and is seeking $13 million for her injuries. Many cases get thrown out but others, like Olivia Holmes’ suit, go the distance – seeking retribution.
