Cracker Barrel ordered to pay $9.4 million to customer served cleaning fluid in 2014

A Marion County jury has ordered Cracker Barrel to pay a customer $9.4 million after finding the company at fault for serving the man a glass filled with a water and bleach mixture.

The size of the payment may change due to Tennessee civil damage laws. According to CNN, Cracker Barrel is disappointed with the verdict. Plaintiff

William Cronnan’s attorney Thomas Greer said in an interview with CNN, “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 ten minutes of additional deliberation. 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.”

In a statement released by Cracker Barrel, the company said, “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.”

“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 incident took place back in 2014, when Cronnan took a sip of what he believed to be 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.

The chemical was found to be Eco-San, which was being used to clean the kitchen area. Cronnan is reportedly still suffering from his injuries as a result of the incident.