NSW Personal Injury from Bone Shard in Pork from Supermarket

[Jispira]

Good morning,
Last night I cooked a pickled pork I purchased from the supermarket. I prepared the food as instructed etc. All went well until the 3rd bite into my roll to which I received a sharp pain in my gum. I found a bone shard in my roll from the pickled pork which cut my gum.

Pain was short lived last night though today I have discomfort from my gum in the spot the bone shard cut.

Are there grounds for negligence here on the food preparation side of the supermarket?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ivy]

Hi Jispira,

Who prepared the pickle pork? Was it prepared onsite at the supermarket or was it packaged under a label? Generally, whoever prepared the food would be responsible for any issues with it.

Also, the action that you take with this depends on what you are hoping to get out of the situation. So can you please provide us with some guidance as to what you are hoping will be the outcome of this? That will allow us to help you further.

 

[Jispira]

Hi Jispira,

Who prepared the pickle pork? Was it prepared onsite at the supermarket or was it packaged under a label? Generally, whoever prepared the food would be responsible for any issues with it.

Also, the action that you take with this depends on what you are hoping to get out of the situation. So can you please provide us with some guidance as to what you are hoping will be the outcome of this? That will allow us to help you further.

Hi, Thanks for the reply.
It was pre labelled pre prepared by the supermarket chain.

I guess i am disappointed and annoyed? By the pain i felt in my gum all day and the fact i didn't serve for dinner the night prior with my daughter as it could have ended differently. I hadn't thought further into it to be honest but i know a "food voucher" for another pickled pork wont make me very happy as i will not be shopping there with out second thoughts from now on. I guess if at all possible I would like to explore what options are available at this point. Thanks again for the reply.

 

[Ivy]

Hi Jispira,

If you don't have some of the product on hand, it may be difficult to get a substantive outcome. I am also not sure whether finding a bone in a meat product would be considered to be for negligence on the part of the manufacturer.

If you were pushing for negligence, you would also need to weigh up the costs and benefits of making a claim. For example, how much time and money would it cost to involve a lawyer versus was there any cost to you due to the injury? Have you had to take time off work, pay medical bills etc. Because even in instances where there has been wrongdoing, the remedy (for example compensation) is equivalent to the damage caused.

However, you can have a look at the NSW Food Authority webpage which gives guidance on lodging a complaint. I think in your case, you would be looking at lodging a complaint with your local council (where the supermarket is located). Complaints about food or food businesses | NSW Food Authority

I hope that helps.

 

[Tracy B]

Hi Jispira,

According to the label, it does appear that whoever prepared the food has some fault (or at least mislead its consumer).

However, you need to question what is really driving you to seek a negligence claim against the food preparer. A claim in negligence, as Ivy pointed out, would be difficult to prove unless you kept a part of the uncooked meat with bone lodged inside. Further, negligence will depend on how much damage you suffered due to the bone. If the bone chipped a tooth or caused you (or someone else) to suffer permanent or long-lasting injury to your health, and you have medical fees or some other pecuniary (plus significant non-pecuniary) loss you wish to claim from the food preparer, then a claim in negligence might be worth pursuing. You should consider how much compensation you would likely receive if your claim in negligence should succeed and how much costs (time, money, stress, anger) you'd likely incur in bringing such an action.

Might I suggest you rest it for a few days, see if the pain persists and evaluate whether you wish to take this further. Have you brought this incident directly to the supermarket where you bought the meat from? It would be reasonable to expect an apology from the manager of the supermarket, your complaint noted for future products from the same food source and possibly a refund/good will compensation.