The Ohio Supreme Court has made a remarkable ruling in the case of a man who suffered horrific injuries after making a disgusting discovery in his boneless chicken wings.
Michael Berkheimer was enjoying a meal with his wife and some friends when he ordered his “home cooked” meal at Wings on Brookwood in Hamilton in 2016.
He was eating the boneless chicken wings with parmesan garlic sauce with a knife and fork when he said he felt something stuck in his throat.
Berkheimer said he didn’t think much of it at first, attributing the lump in his throat to the fact that the chicken wing had gone “in the wrong direction.” told Fox 19.
But three days later he developed a fever and was sent to the emergency room.
Michael Berkheimer suffered serious injuries in 2016 after eating what he thought were boneless chicken wings
Doctors discovered that a piece of a wishbone from one of the wings had become lodged in his throat and had punctured his esophagus
There, doctors discovered that a piece of a wishbone from one of the wings had become lodged in his throat and had punctured his esophagus.
Everything he ate went through the hole in his chest cavity, where it caused an infection.
“I had bacteria in my chest cavity the size of a softball sitting on my heart,” Berkheimer said.
He then suffered a heart attack, in which one of his lungs collapsed, and fell into a coma twice.
Berkheimer is still suffering from the effects on his body and has gone to see a psychiatrist for the trauma he suffered.
“It just traumatized me. It robbed my family of joy,” he said.
‘Thank God for the Lord and my wife, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.’
Berkheimer (pictured before his injuries) sued the local restaurant and its suppliers, accusing them of negligence
The Ohio Supreme Court has now ruled that the term “boneless wings” refers only to the “style of cooking” and should not be taken seriously
After the near-death experience, Berkheimer sued the restaurant and its suppliers for negligence.
According to his attorney, Rob Stokar, the judge dismissed their initial lawsuit, but they appealed and the case eventually ended up in the Ohio Supreme Court.
On Thursday, a 4-3 vote decided that the term “boneless wings” only refers to the “cooking style” and should not be taken seriously.
“A diner who reads ‘boneless wings’ on a menu is no more likely to believe that the restaurant is justifying the absence of bones in its dishes than to believe that the dishes are made with chicken wings, just as a person who eats ‘chicken fingers’ knows that he was not served fingers,” wrote Justice Joseph T. Deters for the majority.
Other judges disagreed, with one calling the majority opinion “complete nonsense.”
‘The question must be asked: does anyone really believe that parents in this country who feed their young children boneless chicken wings or chicken nuggets or chicken fingers or chicken fingers expect there to be bones in the chicken? Of course not,’ wrote Judge Michael P Donnelly.
“When they read the word ‘boneless,’ they think it means ‘without bones,’ just like all sensible people.”
The opposition argued that the decision should have been made by a jury instead.
The owners of Wings on Brookwood welcomed the ruling, saying they were glad the case was finally over. They hoped the ruling would protect other small businesses from what they called “frivolous lawsuits.”
The owners of Wings on Brookwood welcomed the ruling. They said they were glad the case was finally over and hoped the ruling would protect other small businesses from what they called “frivolous lawsuits.”
But Ohio State Senator Bill DeMora said he now plans to introduce legislation to ensure that anyone in a similar situation can bring their case before a jury.
“It was outrageous. It lacked any common sense,” the Democrat said of the ruling.
He said he has asked the Legislative Service Commission to draft a bill that would ensure “people get their day in court” instead of having career judges make the decisions.
However, the Ohio Legislature is unlikely to take action on the measure before the November elections.