Nearly thirty years ago, the whole country was buzzing about the million dollar plus jury award to a McDonald’s customer “who spilled hot coffee on herself,” as one person put it and incurred third degree burns over a large area of her body. Many people viewed the Liebeck case as a monument to consumer greed. Others viewed it as a call for tort reform. We believe the verdict was a signal to the restaurant industry to take customer safety into account for the condition of its food and beverage served to customers. It remains to be seen if the industry has headed that calling.
Once again, the country and Floridians are buzzing over another severe burn incident and large verdict involving McDonald’s; however, this time it involves a minor child. According to the New York Post, four years ago, in a strikingly similar incident in Broward County, Florida, 4-year-old Olivia Caraballo opened her order of Chicken McNuggets that her mother had ordered from the drive-through and dropped one of the red-hot nuggets (200 degrees Fahrenheit) onto her lap. The nugget got wedged between her car seat and leg for roughly two minutes, leaving second degree burns that have left her leg scarred and disfigured. The girl’s parents sued McDonald’s and the franchise holder, Upchurch Foods, Inc., seeking $15 million in damages. In May of 2023 a jury found the two defendants liable, and in July of 2023, a jury awarded Olivia, then eight years old, $800,000 in damages after only two hours of deliberation.
The girl’s parents claimed that the defendants should have warned customers about the dangers of the hot food, did not properly train employees, and cooked the food to a higher degree than necessary. Lawyers for McDonald’s responded that the nuggets are cooked to 160 degrees to avoid salmonella poisoning, and that the nugget was not meant to be pressed against human flesh for more than two minutes. They thought the award was unreasonably high given the fact that the wound has already healed and she was not permanently disabled. While she may not be disabled from the burn, it is clear she was certainly left disfigured by it, which is bad enough and certainly compensable under our system of justice.
The jury found Upchurch Foods Inc. liable for negligence and failure to warn customers of the risks of handling hot food and found McDonald’s liable for failing to provide instructions on the safe handling of its food. However, the jury did not find McDonald’s actions to be negligent with regard to the burn. In the Liebeck case, the jury found the temperature at which McDonald’s served its coffee to be unreasonably high and found McDonald’s negligent for failing to warn its customers that the beverage was extremely hot.
Florida food safety regulations require the internal temperature of cooked poultry to be 165 degrees Fahrenheit or more. There appears to be no upper limit to the temperature; however, the hotter it is the greater the potential to cause injury to unsuspecting customers arguably increasing the need for fast food restaurants like McDonalds to warn of its danger, make it safe and ensure its employees properly transfer hot food or drink to customers.
As with the Liebeck case, this most recent matter against McDonald’s emphasizes the point that corporations and businesses are resistant to measures to improve safety or warn consumers of burn risks until they are forced to do so by a jury in the form of a large settlement or verdict. For this reason, these lawsuits are incredibly important and act as a catalyst for necessary safety reform.
Without these verdicts, and the subsequent remedial measures that result, we all would be a little less safe. If you or a loved one are injured at McDonalds or other fast-food restaurant, do not hesitate to call The Datny Law Firm at 561-221-7474. We are proud to help injured accident victims recover physically/financially and in doing so hold restaurants like McDonald’s accountable. All consultations are FREE and there is no fee unless we get you a recovery. We represent Clients throughout the entire State of Florida from the Keys to West Palm Beach to Orlando to Tampa.