McDonald's has been in the news this month for some pretty unsavoury reasons. First the company was in trouble after shocking revelation of serious violations at many McDonald's restaurants. Then, questions were raised by many people about McDonald's hiring policies after a weird requirement in restaurant's job ad.
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Now, as reported by Yahoo News, McDonald's has once again hit the headlines because of some terrible news. A little child was severely injured due to McDonald's food. The parents of the injured child pursued a case against the fast-food giant, and the verdict is now out, and its not in favour of the company.
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McDonald’s found responsible for causing second-degree burns to a child
Philana Holmes took her son and daughter to a McDonald’s restaurant in Tamarac, Florida and got them Happy Meals from the drive-thru window. She received the food and drove away.
She then heard her then 4-year-old daughter screaming in agony, having dropped her chicken nuggets on her legs. The nuggets were so scalding hot that it left the child with second-degree burns.
The parents then pursued a case against the McDonald's restaurant run by the franchise operator, Upchurch Foods. They argued that the restaurant failed to give adequate instructions on how to handle such a hot, and potentially dangerous food.
On May 11, a jury in Broward County ruled against the McDonald's restaurant and found them liable for the injuries. A second court will determine the monetary value of how much the restaurant would be penalised for this incident.
Read more:
⋙ McDonald's customer left shocked after young child served this inside Happy Meal
McDonald's response to the verdict
The parents of the injured child argued that McDonald's employees were not well-trained, and also the company failed to adequately warn customers about food temperature.
As per McDonald's lawyers, there is a pretty good reason why chicken nuggets are cooked at that high a temperature: to prevent salmonella infection in food. Also, they argued that the nuggets couldn't have been in contact with the child for more than two minutes.
As reported by Yahoo, a statement issued by McDonald's expressed that the company respectfully disagrees with the verdict.
McDonald's statement reads,
This was an unfortunate incident, but we respectfully disagree with the verdict. Our customers should continue to rely on McDonald’s to follow policies and procedures for serving Chicken McNuggets safely.
Sources used:
Yahoo News: 'McDonald’s Found Liable For Causing Second-Degree Burns To A Child After Hot Chicken Nuggets Fell Onto Her Lap'