Whopper Lawsuit Filed Against Burger King

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – On May 10, Linda D. Watson filed suit in the Pinellas County court system against a Burger King located in Darien, Georgia. For her alleged consumption of adhesive tape buried in a burger, she is seeking over $30,000 in compensation.

It happened as Watson, her father, and some friends stopped to eat while traveling through Darien. According to the lawsuit, on December 27, 2021, “Watson ordered a Whopper…and was given no warnings as to any foreign objects that may be expected to be within the food.”

Watson had noticed something was not dissolving as she chewed and proceeded to pull out what she thought might prove to be an onion skin. Instead, it was adhesive tape, which the lawsuit declares under a count of “Negligence” as being “poisonous if consumed.”

The Free Press could not verify that adhesive tape is poisonous if ingested by humans.

3M is a manufacturer of adhesive tape known by the company’s brand name “Scotch,” which is a trademarked product. According to Section 4 of the company’s safety data sheet titled “First Aid Measures,“ “No need for first aid is anticipated,” if the tape is swallowed. 

But the manufacturer of the tape is not identified in the lawsuit, although Watson’s suit indicates she took photos of the affected burger, the facility, and the employees. Evidence regarding the toxicity of the particular brand of tape allegedly ingested will likely be addressed in the case’s discovery process.

Burger King offered to refund Watson her money and make another burger, which she stated to her attorney she could not eat because she had become ill.

The lawsuit does not describe the nature of Watson’s illness, and it does not indicate that the Plaintiff sought emergency relief or physician assistance.

Watson is described in the suit as suffering “physical and mental pain, and anguish…(and) has developed a fear of eating outside the home, enjoyment of life (presumably a loss thereof but not stated in the suit)…has had to seek counseling and suffered monetary losses and may continue to suffer physical, emotional, mental and monetary losses in the future.”

The suit also demands a jury trial, declaring in a Count of “Strict Liability” that Burger King is “strictly liable for its unreasonably dangerous food product and giving such product to its customer, the Plaintiff.”

The Plaintiff’s attorneys are Lucreita D. Becude of The Becude Law Firm, Jacksonville, Florida, and Borden R. Hallows located in St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Becude was asked if the manufacturer of the adhesive tape was in fact 3M, along with a request for Watson’s specific financial losses, but Ms. Becude responded, “While this case is in litigation, these questions are improper and confidential to my client’s case.”

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