LYNNWOOD — Talk about an UnHappy Meal.
In March, a father and his son ordered the famous kid’s meal at the McDonald’s at 176th Street SW and Highway 99 in Lynnwood.
The child, 4, opened the iconic house-shaped box, expecting to find a new toy from the restaurant’s latest line of trinkets.
Instead, there was a yellow box cutter inside, it’s blade exposed, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court against the multinational fast-food chain.
The knife nearly cut the child, the complaint alleges.
His father reportedly filed a police report.
The Griffith family alleges the disturbing find put them in “imminent harm” that caused them “immediate” emotional distress.
The family is traumatized, attorney Anthony Urie said Thursday.
“He doesn’t want to go to McDonald’s anymore,” he said.
The Highway 99 McDonald’s on Friday, August 18, 2023, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Urie blamed the misplaced knife on negligence. Workers apparently use the knife to cut open the famous Happy Meal boxes, the Shoreline attorney said.
A representative from McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time a box cutter has been reported in a kid’s meal. In separate instances, two families in Michigan also found a similar yellow box cutter at the bottom of their childs’ meal this year.
Last month, a jury ordered the corporation to pay $800,000 to a family in Florida, who claimed their 4-year-old child suffered second-degree burns from chicken McNuggets.
The Griffith family is seeking financial compensation for emotional distress.
“This civil tort isn’t for bodily injury,” Urie said. “It inflicted emotional distress, and that is what this case is about.”
Maya Tizon: 4250-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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