New York (CNN) A South Florida jury has returned a split verdict in a civil lawsuit filed against McDonald’s and one of its franchisees alleging “dangerously hot” chicken nuggets from a Happy Meal set fire to a child, according to CNN affiliate WPLG.
A jury on Thursday found McDonald’s and franchise owner Upchurch Foods liable for failing to properly warn or provide reasonable instructions of possible harm from hot McNuggets served at a Tamarac, Florida, drive-thru, the news station reported. However, only Upchurch Foods was found negligent. The jury also found that there was no inherent defect in placing the McNuggets on the market and no breach of the implied warranty.
The lawsuit was filed in 2019 against McDonald’s and Upchurch Foods. A Fort Lauderdale jury said both were at fault for the burns Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez’s daughter suffered when hot nuggets fell on her lap, WPLG reported.
The complaint says Holmes bought and paid for a Happy Meal from the drive-thru and then drove away. The nugget fell and lodged between her 4-year-old daughter’s leg and a car seat, the law firm representing the plaintiffs said.
“The Chicken McNuggets inside the Happy Meal were unreasonably and dangerously hot (in terms of temperature),” and caused her “skin and flesh around her thighs to burn,” the complaint alleged, leaving her ” damaged and scarred.”
The complaint says the franchise should have known the nuggets were “unfit for human handling,” had a duty not to sell them, and should have adequately trained and supervised its employees.
The law firm representing the plaintiff, Fischer Redavid, said in a blog post that the case will go to a second trial to “determine the damages owed to our client.”
The case echoes the famous McDonald’s hot coffee case of the ’90s, where a woman spilled coffee on her lap and suffered third-degree burns. A jury agreed with his contention that the coffee was unreasonably hot. Fischer Redavid noted that the plaintiff in that case was initially awarded nearly $3 million, but he paid less after an appeal.
“This is not Hot Coffee’s terrible case; this is Olivia’s case,” the law firm said in a statement to WPLG. “He was a charming, innocent child who was badly burned through no fault of his own.”
In a statement, McDonald’s called it an “unfortunate incident” but that they “respectfully disagree with the ruling.” McDonald’s defense said it had no control over the injuries and damages.
“Our sympathies go out to this family for what happened in this unfortunate incident, as we hold customer safety as one of our highest priorities,” the local McDonald’s owner and operator, Brent Upchurch, said in a statement. “That’s why our restaurant follows strict rules in accordance with the best food safety practices when it comes to cooking and serving our menu items, including Chicken McNuggets.”
Upchurch said the Tamarac location is “absolutely following” safety protocols.
Fischer Redavid’s statement said the verdict “reflects the truth, the facts, and the law.”
“We don’t consider it a ‘split verdict.’ Two defendants went to trial, denying liability.
– CNN’s Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report
