More details to this question:
My niece and i went to the grocery store yesterday and i purchased a jar of banana peppers along with other groceries. I made me a salad and put some banana rings in it. Today I made another salad with banana rings. Tonight at about 8pm i went to make another salad opened the jar of banana rings put some on the salad. As Im talking on the phone I turn to get a fork and then reach for the banana rings to put the top on them and i see something black in the jar. It was a beetle inside. I called the manufacture, but they were closed. I called the store and was told to call the manufacture. What do i do.
1 ANSWER
R. Christopher Reade
Your scenario does not make it clear as to whether you were using the same jar on each of the three occasions. The reason why this is important to any analysis is whether you can demonstrate that you opened a sealed jar with which no one else could have tampered and thus the beetle was ipso facto in the jar at the time that it left the manufacturer.
A product is defective if when it left the manufacturer it was in a condition that is unreasonably dangerous or not fit for ordinary use. A jar that contains a beetle would violate this standard and thus most likely create some form of liability. The problem in such cases is damages. You have not indicated that you ingested the beetle or in any manner were harmed by its presence in the jar, other than that you most likely have paid for a jar which is inedible. In such product liability cases, some claimants assert emotional distress claims. Emotional distress claims are hard to prove objectively. in most cases, contacting the manufacturer and asking them to address your horror and make it right as a matter of business judgment is the best course of action, as opposed to trying to bring litigation.
Answered on Dec 04th, 2013 at 1:30 PM