Cracker Barrel has been ordered by a jury in Marion County, Tennessee to pay a man $9.4 million after they found the restaurant at fault for serving him a glass filled with a cleaning chemical instead of water.
Due to a Tennessee law on civil damages, the size of the award may be capped. Cracker Barrel said it was "disappointed" with the award that was given.
"The jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages of $4.3 million in just 30 minutes -- one of the fastest verdicts we have ever seen -- and awarded punitive damages of $5 million after only 10 minutes of additional deliberation," Plaintiff William Cronnon's attorney Thomas Greer said in an interview with CNN.
"The speed of the verdict, combined with an amount in excess of what we asked, speaks to just how dangerous the Cracker Barrel policy was," Greer said.
In April of 2014, Cronnon was having lunch at Cracker Barrel and took a sip of what he thought was water, "only to immediately realize that it was not ice water but was some chemical that caused a burning sensation in his mouth and esophagus," according to court documents obtained by CNN.
Cronnon actually had drank the chemical Eco-San, which was being used to clean the kitchen area, per court documents. Cronnon suffered permanent and serious internal physical injury, as Eco-San is described as a corrosive chemical.
Cronnon is still suffering injuries to his mouth and esophagus, his attorney said. The injuries have and will continue to incur medical expenses for him.
"Cracker Barrel's negligence didn't just cause (my client) physical harm; it took away part of his identity," Greer said. Adding that Cronnon did not wish to comment.
Cracker Barrel emailed a statement to CNN, expressing their disappointment with the ruling of the 2014 incident.
"While we have great respect for the legal process, we are obviously disappointed by and strongly disagree with the jury's award in this case, which involved an unfortunate and isolated incident that occurred at one of our stores eight years ago," Cracker Barrel Media Relations said.
"Although we are considering our options with respect to this verdict, we are glad this matter is behind us so we can better focus on caring for our guests and employees around the country," the statement said.
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