South Florida man claims he was injured by a Chicken McNugget

Remember the Wendy’s commercial making fun of McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets as being made of “pieces parts"? The idea was that whatever happens to be under that crispy breading isn’t solid chicken meat.

At least that’s what a West Palm Beach customer thought when he bit into a McNugget he ordered through Uber Eats on May 25.

According to a lawsuit he filed in federal court, Alexei Stolfat bit into a McNugget and felt “unbearable pain.” Then he pulled a nearly 1-inch bone out of his mouth.

But the pain did not end there.

The suit states that for three days he felt a toothache and had a headache. He went to his dentist, who found his tooth was cracked in two places. The dentist said he needed a tooth extraction, root canal and dental implant surgery.

Stolfat is seeking $1.1 million and a recall of all McNuggets “to avoid massive consumer injuries.”

McDonald’s USA issued this statement about the claim: “Providing safe, high quality food is always a top priority. We take these claims seriously but as this is pending litigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

Reached by phone, Stolfat pledged to give $1 million to charities if he wins the case.

His suit says McDonald’s failed in its duty to use ingredients, supplies, and other materials that were reasonably safe, wholesome, free of defects and safe for human consumption.

As of now, he has no attorney and filed the suit on his own using knowledge he gained in his native Estonia, where he worked as a jurist, which in that country refers to one who does legal work but is not a licensed attorney.

Now working in the IT field in South Florida, Stolfat said he hasn’t had the broken tooth removed yet because while it’s still in his mouth, it’s proof of his injury.

“I want to be able to show the court,” he said.

Stolfat’s suit against the multibillion-dollar company is likely a long shot.

McDonald’s is famously a target of litigation.

In 1999, a customer in Knoxville, Tennessee, claimed her chin was scalded by a hot pickle that shot out of her hamburger. The chain settled in 2001, but McDonald’s maintained it did not make any monetary payment.

In 2002, a 600-pound teen said he ate at McDonald’s every day without knowing the food was fattening. A judge rejected the suit in 2003.

And in 2018, two South Florida patrons claimed some McDonald’s franchises cheated them by not discounting the price of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese when the patrons asked for the burger without cheese. A federal judge tossed that case, too.

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