Florida family awarded $800,000 after suing McDonald’s and a franchisee when their child was burned by a chicken nugget

• A Florida family was awarded $800,000, following a lawsuit against McDonald’s and a franchisee.
• The family said their daughter was left with second-degree burns from a chicken nugget.
• In May, McDonald’s was found liable for the incident.

A Florida family was awarded $800,000 in a civil lawsuit against McDonald’s and one of its franchisees after a four-year-old child was burned by a chicken nugget.

In May, in the case brought by the family of the child, a separate jury delivered a split verdict that found McDonald’s liable for failing to provide instructions for the safe handling of the food.

Franchisee Upchurch Foods was found liable for negligence and failure to warn customers about the risk of hot food. McDonald’s was not found to be negligent, as Insider previously reported.

On Wednesday, the family was awarded $400,000 for injuries sustained in the past and a further $400,000 for damages the jury determined would be sustained in the future, per CNN.

Representatives for McDonald’s and Upchurch Foods did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, made outside usual business hours.

The incident occurred in 2019 at a Tamarac McDonald’s drive-thru, according to court documents previously reported by Insider. The child’s mother told NBC 6 South Florida the injury happened after a hot nugget got stuck between her daughter’s thigh and seatbelt.

The complaint said the burns left the girl disfigured and scarred. The family was originally seeking $15 million, according to a report by the Sun-Sentinel.

Legal representatives for the family did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

In a statement, attorneys for the family told CNN, “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.”