Product liability - Alleged food contamination - Sharp nail-like object in hamburger - Tongue and gum injuries - TMJ - Severe migraine headaches.

Manatee County, FL

The plaintiff alleged that he bit into a hard metal object which was contained in a hamburger he purchased from the defendant, a franchisee of Wendy’s International. The defendant denied that its hamburger was contaminated and maintained that the plaintiff’s claim was fraudulent.

The plaintiff testified that on February 24, ________, he purchased a take-out hamburger at the defendant’s fast food restaurant. The plaintiff testified that he bit into the hamburger at his place of employment and his mouth closed on a hard metal object that resembled a nail. The plaintiff introduced the metal object at trial. The plaintiff, age 45 at the time, was seen by EMS personnel at the time of the incident and later that evening, he drove himself to the emergency room.

The plaintiff claimed that biting down on the metal object caused injuries to his tongue and gums, TMJ and severe migraine headaches which required four emergency room visits. The plaintiff underwent bilateral arthroscopic TMJ surgery and claimed $________ in medical expenses.

The defendant’s biochemistry expert testified that he examined the metal object which the plaintiff allegedly took out of his mouth after biting into the hamburger. The traces of saliva on the metal object contained no starch which the defendant’s expert testified indicated that the metal object was not in the plaintiff’s mouth at the same time as a hamburger bun.

The defendant stressed that the plaintiff saw three separate doctors yet did not make any complaints of jaw pain until some three months after the alleged incident. The defendant’s oral/maxillofacial surgery expert opined that the plaintiff’s TMJ symptoms were not related to the alleged incident. Evidence also indicated that the plaintiff had been convicted of seven prior felonies.

The jury found no negligence on the part of the defendant which was a legal cause of injury to the plaintiff. The jury also found that the defendant’s hamburger was not defective. The defendant’s motion to tax attorney fees and costs is pending.