Ohio Supreme Court rules 'boneless' chicken wings can have bones
Court says boneless chicken wings can have bones
The Ohio Supreme Court says consumers can't expect boneless chicken wings to actually be free of bones. By a 4-3 vote, the court on Thursday has rejected claims by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications from getting a bone stuck in his throat.
On July 25, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that chicken wings advertised as "boneless" can indeed have bones.
The claim was brought to court by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications from getting a bone stuck in his throat.
Michael Berkheimer was dining with his wife and friends at a wing joint in Hamilton, Ohio, and had ordered the usual — boneless wings with parmesan garlic sauce — when he felt a bite-size piece of meat go down the wrong way. Three days later, feverish and unable to keep food down, Berkeimer went to the emergency room, where a doctor discovered a long, thin bone that had torn his esophagus and caused an infection.
Berkheimer sued the restaurant, Wings on Brookwood, saying the restaurant failed to warn him that so-called "boneless wings" — which are, of course, nuggets of boneless, skinless breast meat — could contain bones. The suit also named the supplier and the farm that produced the chicken, claiming all were negligent.
"What possible justification could there be for tossing a case out of court with a representation that says you're getting boneless chicken and I get a 1 and 3/8 inch bone that lacerated my esophagus?" Zellin said.
The 4-3 ruling claims "boneless wing" refers to a cooking "style" and shouldn't be taken literally – because chickens, of course, have bones. The high court sided with lower courts that had dismissed Berkheimer’s suit.
Zellin adds that patrons have every reason to believe boneless wings are just that.
"In New York, I'd like to think that there aren't a lot of judges that would be so boneheaded," Zellin said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.