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McDonald's is ordered to pay for boy's broken arm

The Taipei District Court ordered McDonald's yesterday to pay NT$300,000 to a four-year-old boy who was injured while playing on the restaurant's playground equipment.

The four-year-old broke his arm after falling off the slide at McDonald's Hsing-nan (興南) restaurant in Chungho (中和), Taipei County, on Sept. 30, 1999.

The boy's father said the playground equipment was defective and that the restaurant should take responsibility for the injury.

The boy was playing on the slide on a visit to McDonald's with his grandmother. The court found that the fast-food chain's staff had failed to provide proper supervision.

The boy fell off the slide and was sent to hospital, the court found.

During the trial, McDonald's argued that its playground equipment complies with safety standards set by the headquarters of the international restaurant chain. The restaurant denied responsibility for the boy's injury.

McDonald's also pointed to its reputation in the fast food industry, saying it has never been sued over its playground equipment in the past.

But the boy's father argued his son used the equipment in "reasonable" conformity with playground guidelines, and that the boy should have been safe.

Taipei District Court Judge Chen Po-wen (陳博文) ruled yesterday that McDonald's was responsible for the boy's injury and awarded an NT$300,000 judgement.

The plaintiff had asked for NT$1 million in damages.

Chen said the restaurant had an obligation to ensure the safety of its services and equipment, but McDonald's had failed in its obligation which led to the boy's arm injury.

Although McDonald's claimed its equipment complied with safety standards established by its international headquarters, that didn't necessarily guarantee that the equipment was safe, the court said.

The court also found that there was no McDonald's staff present as the boy played on the slide, while normally staff should have been on hand to watch over the safety of the children.
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