3 months ago I broke my tooth at a restaurant and filed a complaint form then. I had just had my tooth worked on in oct or dec, so I see no reason for it to break. I was eating a hamburger and hit a piece of bone, I didn't realize what it was at first and I swallowed it. Then I realized my tooth had broke, as the tooth was so sharp it cut my tongue. The insurance company for this restaurant is trying to tell me they aren't responsible, there is no proof I broke it at their rest and it's the meat manufacturers responsibility. What recourse do I have?

Since you don't have the broken tooth it will be hard for you to collect from the restaurant. You may want to consult an attorney on this case but I don't think you'll have much of a case. Did you have any friends along with you at the time you ate the meal? If you did, then possibly you may have a case against the restaurant. The only thing you would be able to collect would be the cost of the dental work on this tooth plus a few dollars for your anguish.

Of course they will tell you this, they don't want to pay, and start a pattern of payments. So you have to sue, since this is a lower amount sue them in small claims court.

Of course they will tell you this, they don't want to pay, and start a pattern of payments. So you have to sue, since this is a lower amount sue them in small claims court.


Absolutely right but these cases are very, very difficult to win - you have to prove the tooth was sound when you walked in, no fractures, no problems, and the bone chip (which I believe you said it was) was the cause of the break. There is case law in various States that certain "objects" (for lack of a better word) can be expected in certain foods - for example, if you break a tooth on a cherry pit in cherry pie you will not collect in NYS (unless the restaurant is feeling very kind). I'm not sure about a piece of bone in ground up beef (hamburger).

I broke off a molar eating a pretzel at a bar some years ago and lost - apparently broken molars are a side effect of eating bar pretzels! I was very, very unhappy but that's how it worked out. I could not prove 100% that the tooth was sound when I walked in - short of having a Dentist examine your teeth at the bar, how could you prove it?

Did you fill out an Accident/Incident Report at the time? Do you still have the tooth and piece of bone?

I work a fair number of product liability cases (which this is) and they are complicated, expensive to prove - and usually "losers," unfortunately for you.

Small Claims Court is always an option - maybe they'll settle rather than have the exposure.

My mother and husband were with me when it happened. I did fill out a report. I had seen the dentist in oct or dec prior to my march visit and had my tooth fixed then. I swallowed before I realized I broke my tooth. My other problem now is that I no longer live in that state. I have contacted the consumerist, maybe they will give me the exposure I want.

My nieces friend broke her tooth on a salad that had a piece of broken glass in it. She confronted the mgr as soon as it happened. She got a report from her dentist about the condition of her teeth at the last cleaning. They finally paid for her dental work... a couple of thousand dollars. Btw that was in OH.

Mine was in Wisconsin.

You've already acknowledged that the tooth was worked on prior to it breaking at the restaurant. The restaurant could argue that the tooth was already damaged and even try to say that it hadn't been fixed properly to begin with, which led to it breaking on their premises.