jury awards Cracker Barrel customer way more than he asked for

[Demovictory9]

This Popular Restaurant Chain Was Ordered to Pay Millions To a Customer After Causing Him "Permanent and Serious Physical Injury"


William Cronnon was eating at a local Cracker Barrel restaurant in Marion County, Tenn., in April of 2014, when he was served cleaning sanitizer in place of water. As he took a sip, he felt a burning sensation and ended up with injuries of the mouth and esophagus which he still suffers from today and which have hindered his ability to work.

It was later found that Cronnon had inadvertently been served Eco-San, a chemical used to clean the restaurant's kitchen at the time. The National Fire Protection Association categorizes Eco-San as a chemical that poses a high health risk, while its manufacturer Ecolab states the sanitizer causes "severe skin burns and eye damage."

Cronnon filed a complaint against the chain in 2015, claiming the restaurant showed negligence with an extremely dangerous chemical and asked for compensation of $150,000. But a jury last week decided the company owed the victim a lot more and ordered Cracker Barrel to pay him $730,000 in economic damages, $3.6 million in non-economic damages, and $5 million in punitive damages, according to court records viewed by Chattanooga Times Free Press. (He'll only get 750,000 because TN has a cap on damages(

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According to the publication, the water-chemical mixup occurred when the Eco-San solution was left in a water pitcher to soak drink dispensing machine parts overnight. The pitcher wasn't dumped the next morning as it should have been, and a server accidentally used it to fill Cronnon's water glass.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/this-popular-restaurant-chain-was-ordered-to-pay-millions-to-a-customer-after-causing-him-permanent-and-serious-physical-injury/ar-AASO0m4

[MissMillie]

1. I've worked in restaurants

I can't BEGIN to imagine why the employees didn't fill a pitcher with fresh water. It's not like it would cost them anything.

[BlackSkimmer]

15. I worked in a lot of restaurants while in college.

Many of them high dollar. The things I saw…

To this day, I rarely eat out.

[Emile]

2. Why in hell does TN have a cap on damages?

[jimfields33]

3. A lot of states do

So people won’t get 50 million for a hang nail. But I think there should have been some exemptions for situations like this.

[Emile]

4. No kidding

[barbtries]

5. because...

capitalism?? corporatism? republicans?

it's a good question, but i'm guessing not for any good reason.

[Emile]

6. Predatory Capitalists with deep pockets would be my guess.

[Solomon]

9. Republicans. Don't you remember Reagan ranting about welfare queens and "tort lawyers"?

Makes me sick that they put caps on damages like this. Jury nullification in the service of capitalism at its finest.

[paleotn]

7. Thus, the universal safety standard....

Never ever put chemicals in unlabeled containers. I bet that's been pounded into the brains of Cracker Barrel site management and employees. Ugh. Just double ugh!

[The Jungle 1]

8. Yes that is real basic stuff.

I wonder if the pitcher was a dedicated container. I bet they just washed it out and used it again to serve water with.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. In My Field...

...it's actually against the law.
Unless it's something with low toxicity, every container needs a label.
And if it's low toxicity, leaving off a label is only ok for temporary use of a fully attended container.
Seems a 5 gallon pail or a mop bucket would have been a better choice than a water pitcher.
As you said, safety first.

[Sympthsical]

10. Reminds me of that person who was served liquid nitrogen

Bartender didn't know you had to let the nitrogen evaporate before serving the drink. The woman had to have her stomach removed. Just yikes.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/17/oscars-wine-bar-lancaster-gaby-scanlon-stomach-liquid-nitrogen

[Buckeyeblue]

11. Why wouldn't Cracker Barrel do the right thing and take care of him?

They made a mistake that hurt him. Own up to it and make sure he is taken care of. I don't get companies sometimes.

Now everyone know that they shouldn't trust the water at Cracker Barrel.

[Liberal In Texas]

13. At some point the Congress needs to federally outlaw these damage cap laws.

There's other fish to fry right now, but these cap laws are nothing but shield laws protecting negligent practices.

There are people who get incensed at large jury awards but without them big corporations will continue to make defective products or operate dangerously. The jury awards for hurting people should also hurt the company that caused it, not be a "cost of doing business" which is how they look at it when they lose and the penalties are small.

The other thing is that without substantial funds to be won the average joe can't afford to sue these large corporations. Plaintiff's lawyers can't afford to mount adequate cases when pitted against an army of corporate lawyers who use all the of the big guns available to them.

[Talitha]

14. All cleaning chemicals I use have an awful odor.

I wouldn't expect the server to sniff the pitcher before pouring, but the customer had it right under their nose. Didn't they smell anything?