(Image Credit: Rob Griffith/AP Photo)

The family of a girl who was left brain-damaged after eating a chicken wrap at a KFC restaurant was awarded $8.35 million ($8 million Australian) today by an Australian court.

Monika Samaan, then 7, and her family became ill from salmonella poisoning  in 2005 after sharing a chicken wrap they purchased at a Sydney KFC. The girls' parents and brother said they suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, but made a full recovery. Monika, however, spent months in a coma and is now confined to a wheel chair and unable to speak.

The family's attorney, George Vlahakis, praised the court's decision and said Monika's care had exhausted the family's financial resources.

"Monika is now a big girl and they are finding it increasingly difficult to lift her and to look after her basic needs as well as look after Monika's younger siblings," Vlahakis told the Sydney Morning Herald outside of court.

In a statement posted on its website, KFC said it plans to appeal the case.

"This is clearly a very tragic case but we are deeply disappointed and surprised by the judge's decision,"  Sally Glover, KFC Australia's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, said. "We feel deeply for Monika and the Samaan family; however we also have a responsibility to defend KFC's reputation as a provider of safe, high-quality food."