"Lawsuit Over Injury from Eating Boneless Chicken Bones... Court Says 'Why Would You Believe That?'"

US Man Suffers Abdominal Pain and Fever After Eating Boneless Chicken Wings
Lawsuit Against Restaurant Dismissed by Court
Supreme Court Controversy: "Should Have Noticed the Bones"

The image shows boneless chicken dish, unrelated to the article content.

A man who was injured after eating chicken bones in boneless chicken wings lost a lawsuit against the business owner.

AP News reported on the ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court on the 26th of last month (local time). Michael Burkheimer was dining with his wife and friends at Wing Joint in Hamilton, Ohio, when he ordered boneless chicken wings as usual. He later realized that he had bitten into a bone while eating. Three days later, experiencing abdominal pain and fever, he went to the emergency room where doctors found a long, thin chicken bone lodged in his esophagus. Burkheimer sued the restaurant, claiming that the restaurant failed to warn that bones could be present in the "boneless wings." He also held the chicken supplier and the farm that produced the chicken responsible.

However, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed Burkheimer's lawsuit, stating that "consumers would not actually expect boneless chicken wings to be completely free of bones." Among the seven judges, four sided with the defendant while three sided with the plaintiff, showing a split opinion. The majority opinion held that "boneless wings refer to a style of cooking, and it is common sense that chicken has bones, so the plaintiff should have exercised caution."

But the dissenting judges argued, "How many parents feeding boneless wings, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, or chicken fingers to their young children would expect bones to be present in the chicken?" They added, "A reasonable person would interpret the word 'boneless' to mean 'without bones.'"