Woman hospitalized after biting into Burger King chicken fries denied compensation

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    LANCASTER COUNTY, PA (WPMT) — A Lancaster County woman who spent four days in the hospital after she said she bit into metal that was in her chicken fries from a Burger King in Manheim Township back in October, is being denied compensation.

Megan Tomlinson said she started throwing up blood after eating the fast food on her way home. Once in the hospital, results from a cat scan, x-ray, and an emergency endoscopy showed three metal densities in her GI tract.

The metal was sent away for testing. FOX43 received a copy of those results. Burger King’s insurance company, Nationwide, and Tyson Chicken are not taking any responsibility for what happened. Neither of them found evidence of liability on their part.

According to Cibo Tech Laboratories, a third-party company, the metal fragments were identified as high-carbon steel. It said the metal was consistent with a broken pen-knife or utility blade.

Despite these findings, Tyson Chicken, and Nationwide aren’t footing any medical bills.

“It’s just not fair,” Tomlinson said. “And they’re definitely not taking it seriously. I haven’t heard anything from anybody like asking if I’m okay.”

The testing indicates the metal fragments had not been cooked with raw chicken or breading. It also showed the metal didn’t come from any machinery. Cibo Tech Laboratories said these types of fragments would’ve been detected, and likely would not have come from the plant.

“Why would I go to that such extreme? That’s ridiculous,” Tomlinson said. “I would never do that and clearly in the video you can see it was already in the chicken.”

FOX43 had more questions. So we reached out to Nationwide.

After two emails and three phone calls, we finally did get someone on the phone almost two weeks later. They said “we don’t talk to media on any claims” and then hung up on us.

When we asked Tyson Chicken for a Facetime interview, they said “we’re not going to go there.” They did send us a statement, saying:

“Tyson Foods produces high-quality, safe food enjoyed by millions of consumers. In this particular case, the consumer’s Facebook post led to a thorough investigation, including analysis of products made at the same time at our facility and analysis of the alleged material. No similar issues were found, and we remain confident of the safety of our products.”

Tomlinson now sees a therapist about her insecurities with food. She’s also facing just under $30,000 in medical bills, before insurance. Her lawyer calls that a drop in the bucket for both companies.

“It is ridiculous,” Nathan Carter, Tomlinson’s attorney, said. “I mean, I imagine just what they make on hamburgers in a day would easily cover her medical expenses for their mistake.”

“Acccidents happen,” Tomlinson said. “And I realize that. It could’ve honestly just been a true mistake. But take claim for it. Own up to it. Instead of putting it back on me.”

Megan and her lawyer are in the process of filing a federal lawsuit in the coming weeks.

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