Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Broke tooth on a 1/2 inch bone in hamburger
On May 1st 2003 My Husband and I were having home-made tacos , upon biting into one of the Tacos I bit into a 1/2 inch bone that was was in the hamburger I had cooked. It broke my left canine tooth off that was a porcelene cap , I swallowed half of my tooth but I stll have the other half of the tooth. I also have the bone I broke it on and I have the meat package it came in that states the Company name which is a local Meat Company. There was no warning on the package or a sign in the store that said eat at your own risk.
Can someone PLEASE Tell ME My Rights on this. The dentist wants over a 1700.00 to fix it. I can not talk or smile without it showing. The dentist also tells me that if I do not take care of this soon the infection that this has caused will spread to the closest teeth and I will have to have work done on them also.
I called the Meat company where I bought it and they are telling me that to eat any hamburger in California , you eat it at your own risk , is this true? This ruined my wedding anniversary dinner , also messed up my mouth.
What can I do about this?

Asked on 5/07/03, 2:11 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Robert Miller Robert L. Miller & Associates, A Law Corporation

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Re: Broke tooth on a 1/2 inch bone in hamburger

Thank you for your posting.

What can you do about this? You can sue for your out of pocket damages, but the law might be against you here. It is a long standing principle in American law that only foreign objects in food, such as metal or something else not associated with the cow used to make hamburger, can be used to automatically prove negligence. You will need to prove that the manufacturing process was defective in some way that allowed a bone to exist in the hamburger meat. Also, the defense typically claims contributory negligence, i.e., that you should have looked at the meat while opening the package, cooking it, and while spooning it into tacos, and that your failure to do so is your fault, not theirs.

Finally, a defendant is liable for any foreseeable damages, and I'm not entirely sure that you making tacos for your anniversary dinner was something that the meat company was in a position to know about.

I hope that this information helps, but if you have other questions, want more information, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. It�s my pleasure to help in any way that I can.

Answered on 5/22/03, 3:21 pm

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Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

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Re: Broke tooth on a 1/2 inch bone in hamburger

This is the kind of dispute that lawsuits are made of, and good press, too. Just how much bone is allowable in California burgers? That's why some people eat veggie burgers. All kidding aside, your first priority should be to take care of your health situation and get the treatment that you believe you need. It would be up to a trier of fact to determine whether the amount of bone in your burger is unreasonable.

Answered on 5/21/03, 10:11 pm

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