Jury returns split verdict after parents say girl was "disfigured" by hot McDonald's chicken nuggets

A jury returned a split verdict on Thursday in a Florida lawsuit alleging hot McDonald's chicken nuggets left a 4-year-old girl "disfigured and scarred," lawyers for the victim's family said. 

Franchisee UpChurch Foods was found negligent while McDonald's was not, court documents show.  The jury found that both the franchisee and McDonald's failed to produce instructions for the food that would have prevented the girl's injury.

Fischer Redavid PLLC, the law firm representing parents Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez, called the jury decision a "tremendous victory for a deserving family."

"They stayed patient and fought hard with us for multiple years against a wealthy corporation: a jury unanimously ruled in favor of our client," the firm said in a post on Facebook. 

The parents filed a lawsuit against UpChurch and McDonald's in September of 2019. In the complaint, they said mom Philana Holmes stopped at a Broward County area McDonald's on Aug. 21, 2019. Her then 4-year-old daughter along with her son were in the backseat as they went through the drive-thru. 

Holmes got a six-piece chicken McNugget Happy Meal with milk and a "Lion King" toy for her daughter, according to court documents. She passed the meal to her daughter. 

A piece of chicken fell on the girl's leg, the Sun Sentinel reported. After the girl screamed, Holmes pulled into a nearby parking lot to help; that's when she spotted the burn.

The suit alleged the "unreasonably and dangerously hot" nuggets caused the girl's skin and flesh around her thighs to burn. Lawyers said the restaurant should have known the nuggets "were not fit for human handling with bare skin by their intended customer." 

After the verdict was read, UpChurch Foods said in a statement that the restaurant followed protocols when cooking and serving the Happy Meal. 

"Our sympathies go out to this family for what occurred in this unfortunate incident, as we hold customer safety as one of our highest priorities. That's why our restaurant follows strict rules in accordance with food safety best practices when it comes to cooking and serving our menu items, including Chicken McNuggets," UpChurch Foods said in a statement. "We are deeply disappointed with today's verdict because the facts show that our restaurant in Tamarac, Florida did indeed follow those protocols when cooking and serving this Happy Meal. Our community here in South Florida should remain confident that we will continue serving safe and high-quality meals, just as we've done for more than 50 years at Upchurch Management restaurants."

McDonald's also disagreed with Thursday's verdict, the company said in a statement. 

"Our customers should continue to rely on McDonald's to follow policies and procedures for serving Chicken McNuggets safely," McDonald's said. 

Holmes is seeking at least $15,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit. A jury has not yet decided how much McDonald's and UpChurch Foods will be required to pay.