A bite into a store-bought burger patty caused severe damage to a B.C. woman’s tooth, causing her to pursue legal action against the company.
According to a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute, the applicant in the case, RSP, fractured her tooth when biting into a burger patty sold by Keg Brands Inc.
She claims that the fracture was caused by a bone fragment in the patty and claimed over $3,600 in damages for dental expenses to repair the tooth.
In response, Keg Brands said RSP wasn’t able to prove that the burger contained a bone fragment and argued that her tooth was previously damaged, asking the tribunal to dismiss her claims.
RSP told the tribunal she bought the burger patties from a B.C. grocery store on June 18, 2023. Keg Brands didn’t dispute this, and RSP was able to support her claim with a credit card statement and an electronic journal report from the grocery store.
RSP said she kept the burgers frozen until cooking one on Aug 25, 2023. She told the tribunal she was eating the burger without condiments or a bun when she bit something hard and felt pain in her tooth.
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“She says that she removed the object from her mouth and saw that it was hard, white, and was approximately 4 mm long by 3 mm wide by 2 mm high. She says it appeared to be a bone fragment,” the tribunal decision states, adding that her husband agreed that it appeared to be a bone fragment.
RSP had pain for the next few days after the incident and decided to see a periodontist four days after she bit into the burger.
The doctor said that RSP presented with a “horizontally fractured tooth,” adding that it was not related to decay but “purely structural failure.”
He added that the fracture was consistent with her description of biting a piece of bone. RSP’s fractured tooth was removed and replaced with an implant and crown.
The applicant went on to argue that the burger was defective and that Keg Brands was negligent, breaching the warranty that the burger would be “fit for consumption.”
Keg Brands told the tribunal there was “no way” that a bone fragment the size that the applicant described could have been present in the patty.
A Keg Brands employee told the tribunal that “the meat grinder is equipped with a specialized grind plate that forces hard particles into a separate channel if they are larger than a specific diameter.”
Keg Brands’ burgers are produced by a supplier named Centennial Food Solutions. An email from a Centennial employee states that the meat grinder is equipped with a grind plate that forces hard particles into a channel if they’re larger than a specific diameter.
“In submissions, Keg Brands says that its burger patties use a fine grind, which means that the grind plate hole diameter is 1/8 inch. I note that Centennial’s email only says that for a fine grind, the diameter is ‘often’ 1/8 inch, and does not specifically address which diameter is used in producing Keg Brands burgers,” the tribunal decision notes.
To add to its argument, Keg Brands told the tribunal it had only received three other complaints about its burgers over the past year. One of the complaints was about a piece of metal, but lab analysis suggested the metal likely came from a bun. The two other cases were dropped when customers were asked for further evidence. Those complaints don’t specify whether the complaints pertained to bone fragments or other materials.
“On balance, I find it is more likely than not that the burger contained a bone fragment or other hard particle as described,” the tribunal member overseeing the dispute declared.
Keg Brands tried to argue that RSP’s teeth had “pre-existing vulnerabilities.”
A report from the doctor said that she has “heavily restored but well-maintained dentition.”
Keg Brands also argued that RSP’s family had a relationship with her dentist due to the dentist having the same last name as RSP’s husband. The tribunal found this argument irrelevant in the case of RSP’s tooth damage.
Ultimately, the tribunal sided with RSP in the B.C. burger dispute and ordered Keg Brands to pay her $3,630.25 and $175 in tribunal fees.