Personal Injury Law

Artichoke Incident at Heart of Bizarre Personal Injury Lawsuit

By guest-writer

A recent personal injury lawsuit filed in Florida raises fascinating questions about restaurants’ obligations towards the customers. Specifically, when must a restaurant tell its customers how to safely eat a particular dish, even when that dish is relatively common?

According to sources that detailed the injury claim, Arturo Carvajal recently filed an injury claim against Hillstone Restaurant Group Inc. in Miami-Dade County. In the lawsuit, Carvajal claims the restaurant failed to instruct him on how to properly eat an artichoke, which led to serious intestinal problems.

In his complaint, Carvajal says the waiter offered him grilled artichokes, which were a house special and not on the regular menu. After receiving the dish, Carvajal promptly devoured the entire vegetable, including the indigestible outer artichoke leaves.

Due to his consumption of the entire plant, reports indicate that Carvajal later experienced severe pain and abdominal discomfort. In addition, the remarkably detailed complaint says that an exploratory stomach procedure discovered artichoke leaves stuck in his bowel.

Carvajal claims that his injury was a direct result of the restaurant’s failure to train its employees to inform customers ordering the special dish that the outer artichoke leaves were, in fact, indigestible.

The artichoke lawsuit surrounding an allegedly defective product has triggered a heated debate about the merits of warning customers about the dangers of particular foods.

In response to the would-be artichoke lover’s complaint, the restaurant chain’s general counsel says it is a “silly” notion to expect restaurants to post warnings about eating an entire artichoke. He further compares the situation to requiring restaurants to warn customers not to eat the bones in barbecue ribs.

His point is well taken, though the relative obscurity of artichoke dishes suggests that a bit of warning may help many naïve customers safely consume their artichokes. After all, restaurants routinely post warnings about the relative spiciness of various dishes. Such simple measures cost very little to implement and provide a wealth of important information for customers.

Of course, the lawsuit has been ripe for criticism, as critics disavow Carvajal’s seemingly frivolous claim. Carvajal’s attorney, however, makes a perfectly valid point when he says that Carvajal, who grew up in Cuba, had never seen nor heard of an artichoke before.

In response, the defendant’s attorneys cite Carvajal’s employment as a doctor to show that he was sophisticated enough to understand the consequences of eating the entire artichoke.

While this lawsuit may seem bizarre, restaurant customers are put in peril every day by the negligent actions of wayward employees. Moreover, food product safety issues are increasingly important in a globalized marketplace.

If you have recently suffered an injury as a result of a defective product, whether it was a food or medication, contact a local personal injury lawyer today.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on December 02, 2010 (boomark / email).