https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/florida-family-awarded-800000-mcdonalds-chicken-mcnugget-burned-girl
Florida jurors awarded Philana Holmes and her daughter Olivia Caraballo $800,000 after she argued a McDonald's Chicken McNugget left her duaghter with serious burns.
I’m not a lawyer but I believe it’s usually split into two parts; the first to cover the expenses the person has already incurred - time missed from work, medical fees, taxis etc etc and predicted expenses in the future - plastic surgery to remove the scar for example, counselling or recompense for “emotional suffering”. The second part is the actual fine imposed on the company/whoever for their negligence. It’s kinda like reimbursement + penalty I believe.
ETA you always ask for way way more than you expect to receive. It’s a bit like haggling but the jury decide the final price.
They can also add punitive damages. Didn't seem to be in this case BUT a meal marketed at children shouldn't cause scars.
With the coffee case had lots of damages for this. MacDonalds had been warned that they were serving coffee at dangerous temperatures, had 700 complaints but it was cheaper to pay compensation than fix.
They served the coffee at much higher temperatures than other establishments, so normally you'd have 12 seconds to wipe coffee off your skin but with MacDonalds it was 3 seconds, causing 3rd degree burns.
They lied saying it was done as people wanted to drink after driving for a long time but their surveys showed the opposite.
The coffee case and how they destroyed that woman’s reputation was absolutely awful. Even now people think it was a “frivolous lawsuit”. That coffee was so hot it fused the lady’s labia together. There is nothing frivolous about that, it’s horrific to contemplate - especially when McDonald’s were warned about the problem, as you said.
It was hot coffee. It was boiling hot coffee. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand you shouldn't play around with it and spill it on you. They made it hot so you could get it at the drive through and still have hot coffee when you got home to eat.