PHILADELPHIA – A lawsuit filed by a man who says he swallowed a razorblade with his Chicken McNuggets ordered at a local McDonald’s restaurant in nearly three years ago, will be heard in a Philadelphia courtroom next year.
According to a revised case management order from Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lisa Rau issued Dec. 19, all discovery will be completed before March 4, 2019 and the plaintiff’s curriculum vitae and reports of experts who are expected to testify will be served on opposing counsel before April 1, 2019. The defendants are required to provide the very same information by May 6, 2019.
Furthermore, Rau’s order said all pre-trial motions must be filed by May 6, 2019, a settlement conference may be filed any time after June 3, 2019, a pre-trial conference will be scheduled any time after Aug. 5, 2019 and the case will be ready for trial four weeks later, on Sept. 2, 2019.
Todd Hart of Philadelphia filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 22 of last year versus Jo-Dan Enterprises (doing business as “McDonald’s”) of Philadelphia, McDonald’s Corporation of Oak Brook, Ill., and Keystone Foods, LLC of West Chester.
On Dec. 4, 2015, Hart was a customer of the McDonald’s restaurant location at 4200 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, where he ordered Chicken McNuggets at the drive-thru window. After picking up his order, Hart recalled he parked his vehicle in the parking lot and began to eat his meal.
As Hart was consuming the Chicken McNuggets, he said he bit down on and swallowed a piece of what he determined to be a razorblade. As a result, the plaintiff called 911, and an ambulance arrived at the McDonald’s restaurant.
The ambulance transported Hart to a local hospital’s emergency room, where he received medical treatment in the form of surgery to remove the razorblade from his stomach, among other measures, the lawsuit said.
Due to swallowing the razorblade, Hart said he suffered “serious and potentially permanent injuries or aggravations of injuries including, but not limited to, internal injuries to his organs, internal damage, numerous contusions and lacerations, post-traumatic anxiety and shock, and various other injuries the exact extent and permanency of which are not yet known.”
Hart added the defendants failed to properly prepare his food and use quality control inspection procedures to ensure its purity and safety, among other charges and failures of proper management and operation.
In later replies to the complaint, the defendants roundly denied the plaintiff’s negligence-based allegations.
For multiple counts of negligence and strict liability/breach of warranty of implied merchantability, the plaintiff is seeking damages from the defendants, jointly and severally, in excess of $50,000.
The plaintiff is represented by Lawrence M. Agunsday of LMA Legal, in Philadelphia.
The defendants are represented by Gerard F. Lipski of Campbell Lipski & Dochney, plus Paul K. Leary Jr. and Nicholas A. Karwacki of Cozen O’Connor, all in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 170801957
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com