The mother testified that at no point did McDonald’s warn her the food might be unusually hot. The company testified they follow food safety rules, which require McNuggets to be hot enough to avoid salmonella poisoning, and that what happens with the food once it leaves the drive-thru window is beyond their control.
While both sides agreed during the trial in May that the nugget caused the burns, the family’s lawyers argued the temperature was above 200 degrees (93 Celsius), while the defense said it was no more than 160 degrees (71 Celsius).
Even if they were warned that the food just came out of the frier, that four year old would have still burned her self. If you tell your kid not to do something, they do it anyway.
The worst part is how easy it is to sue a business for such a trivial wound. Who wouldn't willingly get a nugget burn for a million bucks.
I remember getting ice tea out of a self serve drink machine at a remote American military base facility that was laiden with a large amount of bleach that a worker forgot to clean out before adding the tea. I spit the stuff out as soon as I realized what it was but I was very upset about it. I did contact a lawyer about the incident, but was advised that it would not work out well for me due to the special status that this facility had with the government and the fact there was no injury or related medical problems. If it was at a state side regular business like McDonald's, it may have been a lawsuit anyways. I was never harmed by it, but the worker clearly made a huge mistake that a manager should have ensured was done correctly.
McDonald's has to walk a fine line as do most food service businesses. The lawyers are ready to pounce.
www.fox19.com
