Metro
Cracker Barrel Verdict: Tennessee jury orders restaurant to pay $9.4M after man was served glass filled with a chemical
The scale of the award could also be capped resulting from a Tennessee regulation on civil damages.
“The jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages of $4.3 million in simply half-hour — one of many quickest verdicts we now have ever seen — and awarded punitive damages of $5 million after solely 10 minutes of extra deliberation,” plaintiff William Cronnon’s lawyer Thomas Greer stated in an interview with CNN.
“The velocity of the decision, mixed with an quantity in extra of what we requested, speaks to simply how harmful the Cracker Barrel coverage was,” Greer stated.
Cracker Barrel stated it was “disillusioned” with the award.
“Whereas we now have nice respect for the authorized course of, we’re clearly disillusioned by and strongly disagree with the jury’s award on this case, which concerned an unlucky and remoted incident that occurred at considered one of our shops eight years in the past,” Cracker Barrel media relations stated in a press release emailed to CNN.
“Though we’re contemplating our choices with respect to this verdict, we’re glad this matter is behind us so we are able to higher give attention to caring for our company and workers across the nation,” the assertion stated.
Cronnon was having lunch at a Cracker Barrel in Marion County in April 2014 when he took a sip of what he believed to be water, “solely to right away understand that it was not ice water however was some chemical that brought on a burning sensation in his mouth and esophagus,” in line with court docket paperwork obtained by CNN.
It was later found Cronnon had been served the chemical Eco-San, which was getting used as a cleaner within the kitchen space, in line with court docket paperwork.
Eco-San, described as a corrosive chemical within the lawsuit, brought on everlasting and severe inside bodily harm to Cronnon, the criticism stated.
Cronnon continues to be affected by signs, together with accidents to his mouth and esophagus, Greer stated, which have incurred and can proceed to incur medical bills.
“Cracker Barrel’s negligence didn’t simply trigger (my consumer) bodily hurt; it took away a part of his id,” he stated.
Cronnon didn’t want to remark, Greer stated.
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