McDonald's ordered to pay $800K to child over hot chicken nuggets

McDonald's has been ordered to pay $800,000 in damages after serving "unreasonably" hot chicken nuggets to a four-year-old daughter.

The case dates back to 2019 and states a family visited a McDonald's in Tamarac, Florida, where their then four-year-old daughter was served "unreasonably" hot Chicken McNuggets, resulting in the daughter being burned. According to the mother of the child, a Happy Meal was purchased for herself and the daughter, and after collecting the meals at the drive-thru, she handed one of the meals to her daughter. Shortly after the handover, a chicken nugget became stuck in the child's car seat and burned the daughter's leg, resulting in second-degree burns.

In May 2023, a jury found McDonald's and the franchise owners were at fault for the incident, resulting in the jury being responsible for deciding how much in damages the family was owed. The family was requesting $15 million in damages and instead was granted $800,000 by the jury. Despite receiving much less than what she asked for, the mother of the child, Philana Holmes, said she was more than pleased with the outcome as she had "no expectations".

"I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me. 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," she said while speaking with NBC6

"Hopefully they'll put warning signs on the nugget boxes so parents will know. And just in the future for parents to be more aware. Don't just take someone's word for it that it's warm. It could possibly be hot," Holmes said

"This momentous decision brings meaningful closure to an arduous and protracted legal process. Having previously established the defendants, Upchurch Foods Inc and McDonald's USA LLC, as liable for their wrongful actions, this verdict reaffirms that they must now face the consequences and provide full justice. Despite years of denying any fault and, during this trial, attempting to undermine the extent of Olivia's suffering in the eyes of the community, their efforts have been superseded by the jury's determination," the attorneys said in a statement