A Tennessee man who took a sip of water at a Cracker Barrel in 2014 only to realize he had just swallowed a corrosive kitchen cleaner was awarded $9.4 million by a jury, far above the $150,000 he originally asked for.
William Cronnon was awarded $3.6 million in non-economic damages, such as pain and emotional distress, and $730,000 in economic damages by a Marion County jury on January 6. The jury also awarded him $5 million in punitive damages, according to court documents.
'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,' Cronnon's lawyer Thomas Greer told 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.
However, Cronnon is unlikely to receive the whole sum based on a Tennessee law that caps compensation for punitive and non-economic damages at $750,000.
Cronnon was having lunch at a Cracker Barrel in April 2014 when he was served the kitchen cleaner Eco-San, leaving him with 'permanent and serious internal physical injury,' according to a three-page lawsuit filed in 2015.
William Cronnon had lunch at a Cracker Barrel in April 2014, when he was served the kitchen cleaner Eco-San instead of water
In a three-page lawsuit filed in 2015, he said the chemical 'caused a burning sensation in his mouth and esophagus'
The chemical 'caused a burning sensation in his mouth and esophagus,' the lawsuit alleged.
The National Fire Protection Association categorizes the chemicals in Eco-San as 'extremely dangerous,' according to WTVC.
Court documents do not state who provided Cronnon with the poisonous beverage.
Court documents say the container was kept in unmarked pitchers, but Cracker Barrel told DailyMail.com that their policy 'has been, and continues to be, to never put chemicals in any unmarked containers.'
The National Fire Protection Association categorizes the chemicals in Eco-San as 'extremely dangerous'
The Tennessee-based Southern food chain said it was
