Consumers cannot expect “boneless” chicken wings to be completely free of bones, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a divided decision. This ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications after a bone became lodged in his throat.
Michael Berkheimer was dining at Wings on Brookwood in Hamilton, Ohio, when he ingested a bone while eating boneless wings with parmesan garlic sauce. Days later, Berkheimer sought emergency medical care, where doctors discovered a bone that had torn his esophagus, leading to an infection.
Berkheimer sued the restaurant, along with the chicken supplier and farm, claiming negligence for not warning that “boneless wings” could contain bones. However, the Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, sided with lower courts, stating that “boneless wings” describes a cooking style and that consumers should understand that chickens naturally have bones.
“A diner reading ‘boneless wings’ on a menu would no more believe that the restaurant was warranting the absence of bones in the items than believe that the items were made from chicken wings,” wrote Justice Joseph T. Deters for the majority.
The dissenting justices argued that the case should have been decided by a jury, emphasizing that the term “boneless” leads consumers to reasonably expect the absence of bones. Justice Michael P. Donnelly noted, “When they read the word ‘boneless,’ they think that it means ‘without bones,’ as do all sensible people.”
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