Florida girl burned by McDonald’s Chicken McNugget awarded $800,000 in damages

A Florida jury awarded an 8-year-old girl $800,000 in damages after she received second-degree burns on her leg from a hot Chicken McNugget four years ago when her mother drove out of a McDonald's drive-thru.

Jurors in Broward County deliberated for less than two hours before reaching a verdict Wednesday, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. The decision orders McDonald’s USA and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods, to pay the girl, Olivia Caraballo, $400,000 in damages for the past four years and $400,000 for the future.

Attorneys for Olivia's family were seeking $15 million in damages over the burn she received at the age of 4. McDonald's lawyers argued that the girl's pain ended after the wound healed, which took about three weeks, and that the girl should be awarded $156,000 in damages.

A different jury in May had decided that Mcdonald's and its Upchurch Foods were responsible for the girl's injuries. 

Olivia says the scar left on her inner thigh from the incident is her "nugget" and she wants to get it removed, her mother, Philana Holmes, testified in court. However, doctors said surgeries or treatments will only "revise" the scar, not fully remove it.

"I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment," Holmes told reporters outside the court Wednesday. "I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me."

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.