Broke a tooth eating pizza, can I ask the pizza place for damages?

[MattTuck]

Broke a tooth earlier tonight, going to dentist tomorrow. Will probably be a hefty bill.

Should I ask the pizzeria to cover some/all of the cost? I broke it on a hard piece of semolina on the bottom of the pizza, I believe. If I do ask, any ideas on how I should approach it and how likely I would be to get any help?

[stephenmarklay]

Strange. That might be a hard thing to prove.

[efaust_o]

witnesses w/ you? previous dental issues w/ you in past? Notified management at pizza place time of incident? If they are feeling way generous, otherwise....not...I work in the food industry fielding consumer complaints...so many false claims. Really depends on owners and how threatened they feel...

[EPOJoe]

Legally, I believe they're only liable if you broke your tooth on something that normally shouldn't have been in the pizza, like a button or a piece of metal. Semolina passes the "foreign-natural test" which means it's something that reasonably should have been in/on the pizza, so I don't think you have a case. Of course I'm just remembering this from a law class I took twenty years ago, so if there are any real attorneys who'd like to chime in...

[Llewellyn]

Only in America :crap:

[John H.]

It sucks but eating is not without risk.
I have broken teeth while eating on two different occasions.
I never thought to sue the source.
Once I was eating dates. The kind that are chopped up and rolled in oat flour- bit down on a piece of a pit.
The other time was chomping down on an Atomic Fireball (jawbreaker type candy)- it was in fact a jaw breaker!

[Dead Man]

Yea.. I think ethics dictates you handle that yourself. But given the litigious nature of our society here in the good ol USofA, get a lawyer to write you a neat little "demand letter" and maybe they'll cover you.

[vqdriver]

Dude...
I hesitate to say it, but unless you cut your lip on a hidden razor blade just take it as part of life.

[Waldo]

Just buy a new chainring...

(but, really, sorry for your mishap)

[Peter B]

Do I sue the grocer or the grower if there's a seed in my cherry?

[cmg]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha:no:

[geordanh]

Make sure to tack on $5000 for psychological trauma and $1000 for the uber rides to your attorney's office.

Go big or go home.

[R3awak3n]

hmmmmm, are you sure that tooth was not on its way out already? regardless, its not your fault but its also no the pizzas place fault. If there was something out of ordinary in the pizza, sure but this is not the case.

Like someone said, only in the US

[pdmtong]

more validation that the USA has become a litigious society

hand of fate...sell some bike parts and move on.

[Satellite]

Happened to a buddy at Taco Bell (Yuck to start with). They paid for everything. I can't remember what all had to be done to restore his tooth. I think he ended up with a Crown or an implant. This was also like 20+ years ago.

I broke my tooth eating Pistachios like sunflower seeds. I didn't sue Wonderful but now I buy shelled pistachios. Even with dental insurance the crown was like $500 out of pocket. Crazy! I could of bought a new pair of cycling shoes with that money.

Good luck.

[Tony]

Life is risky! And when something bad happens someone gotta pay.

[benito]

teeth wear out, an that isn't the pizza joints fault.

i had my tooth split in half eating a perfectly fine falafel sandwich, as it turns out i was unable to identify a crack in my incisor that had formed; now there is a hole in my smile :D.

[Peter P.]

Legally, I believe they're only liable if you broke your tooth on something that normally shouldn't have been in the pizza, like a button or a piece of metal. Semolina passes the "foreign-natural test" which means it's something that reasonably should have been in/on the pizza, so I don't think you have a case. Of course I'm just remembering this from a law class I took twenty years ago, so if there are any real attorneys who'd like to chime in...

Decades ago I went out to eat with a cycling buddy. I ordered a pasta dish; he ordered a grinder.

I finish the salad while he's eating the grinder. Pasta arrives and while I'm eating it, I bite down on something hard. It's a piece of china from a broken plate, I presume. Good thing I didn't swallow it.

I call the waitress over and tell/show her what happened. She apologizes and offers to remake the dish. I tell her not to bother; by the time the food is ready, my pal will be done with the grinder and he'll just be sitting there watching me eat.

Waitress leaves and comes back a couple minutes later. She tells me BOTH our meals are free. I tell her, "I ate the salad-I should at least pay for the salad." She refused, so we ate for free.

I guess I'm too honest.

[Hank Scorpio]

One time my sil was eating pancakes and found actual rocks in them. Luckily before she ate them. When she showed the manager he didn't believe her and thought she put them in there herself to scam the restaurant. He did reluctantly comp the meal for her but not her husband.

Avoid Friendlys in Morristown.

[palincss]

Broke a tooth earlier tonight, going to dentist tomorrow. Will probably be a hefty bill.

Should I ask the pizzeria to cover some/all of the cost? I broke it on a hard piece of semolina on the bottom of the pizza, I believe. If I do ask, any ideas on how I should approach it and how likely I would be to get any help?

Your tooth broke because it was cracked, not because of anything the pizzeria did. It sounds as though this is your first; get over it, there are probably many more to come in your future.

[victoryfactory]

I broke my tooth eating Pistachios like sunflower seeds. I didn't sue Wonderful but now I buy shelled pistachios. Even with dental insurance the crown was like $500 out of pocket. Crazy! I could of bought a new pair of cycling shoes with that money.
Good luck.

How do you expect all the dentists to afford those fancy bikes?
But seriously, Retail dental insurance sucks in general. Even the "good" ones have very low yearly limits of $1200-$1500.
I suppose super high end corporate/union versions are better but small business and individuals have to pay big out of pocket even with "insurance" for dental.

VF

[superbowlpats]

Pics or it didn't happen ;)

[El Chaba]

You broke a tooth...you didn't win the lottery.

[oldpotatoe]

Broke a tooth earlier tonight, going to dentist tomorrow. Will probably be a hefty bill.

Should I ask the pizzeria to cover some/all of the cost? I broke it on a hard piece of semolina on the bottom of the pizza, I believe. If I do ask, any ideas on how I should approach it and how likely I would be to get any help?

Did you say something right when it happened? Did you save the semolina that did it?

If not, I'd say get yer tooth fixed and fergetaboutit.

I went to a restaurant with my 2 grand kids...they both had chicken, they both puked all night long. I sent an email to the restaurant telling them about this but that's all. I'd say mention one way or another, not looking to $ in, and then eat somewhere else.

[verbs4us]

American: the land of "I'm not responsible for my own action" and "let's keep the $)(!$ing lawyers employed forever."

[AngryScientist]

keep it classy matt.

sounds like the pizza place was neither negligent or malicious. take care of your own teeth.

[mg2ride]

Only in America :crap:

+1 It's embarrassing!

[Tony T]

I broke a tooth twice eating pizza!
Didn't bike on anything hard. My tooth enamel was probably weakened already, and it was just time to break. Old age, I guess ;)

[ColonelJLloyd]

Isn't there a dentist riding a Serotta joke in here somewhere?

Sorry about the tooth, OP, but I think you know what the answer is.

[Seramount]

and people wonder why insurance rates are ridiculously high.

sack up and pay your own dental bill.

[MattTuck]

American: the land of "I'm not responsible for my own action" and "let's keep the $)(!$ing lawyers employed forever."

yeah, not sure where you got the idea of retaining a lawyer for a broken tooth. My initial post certainly didn't mention an attorney, nor had I considered it.

However, I did consider contacting the owner of the shop, explaining the situation, and that I have dental insurance, and seeing if they would be open to contributing to any dental restoration work that isn't covered by insurance.

Also, not sure where the idea of tacking on some additional amount for pain and suffering came from. I was literally eating a piece of pizza, and the tooth broke. Clear cause and effect. Might it have broken if I was eating something else? Maybe. But, it didn't break when I was eating nuts earlier in the day, or pizza last week. Likely that it was something about that particular piece that led to it.

I'm not asking if it raises to a legal standard, or whether I should take them to court for a burnt piece of semolina. Just what is fair, given that I eat plenty of pizza and don't routinely break my teeth.

[fuzzalow]

It's not a principle until it costs you money. So this much is now known.

[AngryScientist]

i'm sorry Matt, but your whole philosophy here strikes a nerve with me, and i wont expand any further, or post again here.

i sincerely hope you just pay for your own dental bills and move on.

i'm out.

[Louis]

If it was EBA's maybe they should now change their name to "Everything But Hard Semolina."

[cadence90]

New film coming on NetFlix:

"Get Rich Or Break A Tooth Tryin' "
.
.

[pdmtong]

Newsflash: teeth break and may not last forever. It's not the pizzas fault

What you are about to find out is that cracked tooth is probably at best going to result in a root canal and at worst an extraction/implant/implant crown.

The former may be $1500 the latter may be $5000 all in given $1500-2000 limits and partial coverage of most plans.

In either case now is the time to use your HSA if you have one

If the latter you may want to think about spreading the work over calendar years

In either case you need to fix it ASAP since now there is bacteria exposure into the tooth

[Tony T]

I read the OP too fast — he has dental insurance, but still is thinking of having the Pizza Joint contribute to the deductible.

I think the first step is to get the tooth fixed, and while in the chair, ask the professional (not message boards) if a 'hard piece of semolina' could be the cause of the damage.

And to the original question of "Should I ask the pizzeria to cover some/all of the cost?" — No.

[Sierra]

This is just the pits.

In this case, are you sure it wasn't an olive pit?

[malcolm]

I can't imagine a normal healthy tooth was fractured by biting into a piece of hard pasta. Most likely there was an unidentified issue with the tooth already.

It would never cross my mind to think the restaurant bore any responsibility unless there was a rock or something in the food.

Part of life, go to the dentist and move on.

[Sierra]

Newsflash: teeth break and may not last forever. It's not the pizzas fault



It is NEVER the pizza's fault.

[slidey]

yeah, not sure where you got the idea of retaining a lawyer for a broken tooth. My initial post certainly didn't mention an attorney, nor had I considered it.

However, I did consider contacting the owner of the shop, explaining the situation, and that I have dental insurance, and seeing if they would be open to contributing to any dental restoration work that isn't covered by insurance.

Also, not sure where the idea of tacking on some additional amount for pain and suffering came from. I was literally eating a piece of pizza, and the tooth broke. Clear cause and effect. Might it have broken if I was eating something else? Maybe. But, it didn't break when I was eating nuts earlier in the day, or pizza last week. Likely that it was something about that particular piece that led to it.

I'm not asking if it raises to a legal standard, or whether I should take them to court for a burnt piece of semolina. Just what is fair, given that I eat plenty of pizza and don't routinely break my teeth.

There is no proof of this - I'll gladly grant you correlation, but not causation.

[Tony T]

… Might it have broken if I was eating something else? Maybe.
But, it didn't break when I was eating nuts earlier in the day, or pizza last week. Likely that it was something about that particular piece that led to it.

When you see your dentist, ask him if the nuts you ate earlier in the day could have caused a fracture that resulted in the break later in the day.

I don't think the Pizza caused the break (and my opinion is from personal experience with broken teeth and pizza)

[MattTuck]

When you see your dentist, ask him if the nuts you ate earlier in the day could have caused a fracture that resulted in the break later in the day.

I don't think the Pizza caused the break (and my opinion is from personal experience with broken teeth and pizza)

Yes, I will be asking the dentist. I am bringing the tooth to him, so he can make a determination.

And, I resent the broader implication that I am somehow trying to get one over on the pizza place or not take responsibility. I have found various foreign things in food before, (a large metal staple in Indian food, a metal shard on a donut, for instance) and never even considered contacting the establishments that served up that food. In this case, I actually suffered some damage, that is the only reason I even considered it.

[p nut]

Sorry for the broken tooth, but if I were the restaurant owner, I wouldn't even consider any sort of monetary contribution. Maybe an extra slice of pizza...

[Jgrooms]

Best advice would be to not bump thread. Ask mods to lock & delete. ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[malcolm]

Yes, I will be asking the dentist. I am bringing the tooth to him, so he can make a determination.

And, I resent the broader implication that I am somehow trying to get one over on the pizza place or not take responsibility. I have found various foreign things in food before, (a large metal staple in Indian food, a metal shard on a donut, for instance) and never even considered contacting the establishments that served up that food. In this case, I actually suffered some damage, that is the only reason I even considered it.

Matt don't take my response or any of these personally. I don't think anyone that spends any time here knows you to be anything other than a good guy. I know that's my take.

It just struck me as odd. For me this is a cost of doing business thing and I would fix it and move on. Now if it was something clearly malicious or beyond the pale I might would say something, but this sounds like a luck of the draw sort of thing to me and as stated in my prior post I suspect there may have been an undiagnosed issue with the tooth, but do what you feel you need to do to feel good about the situation no matter what the peanut gallery thinks.

Cheers and good luck with the situation.

[93legendti]

You can ask....

You'll get a better chance of a response with a letter from a lawyer. This should get the owner to forward your demand to the insurance co for the pizzeria. It will also depend if it is a franchise or not.

I doubt this will be the first claim the company fields re a broken tooth. Sometimes stuff gets in food.

[rugbysecondrow]

Yes, I will be asking the dentist. I am bringing the tooth to him, so he can make a determination.

And, I resent the broader implication that I am somehow trying to get one over on the pizza place or not take responsibility. I have found various foreign things in food before, (a large metal staple in Indian food, a metal shard on a donut, for instance) and never even considered contacting the establishments that served up that food. In this case, I actually suffered some damage, that is the only reason I even considered it.

I actually had this happen once, I did contact the company because I was worried about metal wire in the donuts. I didn't post on FB, Yelp or anywhere else though.

Tough crowd, but I think you got your answer Matt.

Cheers,

Paul

[gemship]

Broke a tooth earlier tonight, going to dentist tomorrow. Will probably be a hefty bill.

Should I ask the pizzeria to cover some/all of the cost? I broke it on a hard piece of semolina on the bottom of the pizza, I believe. If I do ask, any ideas on how I should approach it and how likely I would be to get any help?

Sorry to hear of your woes MattTuck. I will second what a previous poster said here, you seem like a good guy and I for one appreciate your postings. Well I don't have much to say except I just know it sucks when we are in pain and can obviously pinpoint a ridiculous cause of the pain. I will ask you this as, what hurts more? Is it the feeling of your tooth physically hurting?...Or as I imagine your dental insurance like most others being limited, the out of pocket expenses?

[druptight]

I broke a tooth once on a granola bar. I think you'll find general decay inside the tooth is the root cause (no pun intended), and that if it wasn't the pizza that day, it would have been something else the next day. That's what my dentist told me is generally the case with broken teeth.

Cut your losses and move on, the pizza place shouldn't be responsible for what are likely your overarching dental issues. You don't know what kind of financial position they're in, they could be worse off than you are.

[p nut]

... You don't know what kind of financial position they're in, they could be worse off than you are.

My accounting professor in college told me there are two kinds of restaurants: Ones that are losing money, and ones that don't know that they're losing money.

[cinema]

more validation that the USA has become a litigious society


this is actually untrue. perhaps you're referring to corporations and patent lawyers though.

"It should not have been a surprise when University of Wisconsin law professors Marc Galanter and Joel Rogers documented that Americans today file fewer civil cases per capita than their predecessors did in the 1840s."

i urge everyone here to read this article

http://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/suing-for-justice

[zap]

I actually had this happen once, I did contact the company because I was worried about metal wire in the donuts. I didn't post on FB, Yelp or anywhere else though.


Paul

Found a piece of metal about a quarter inch long-diameter of a small nail-in a sausage. Hurt when I bit into it but thankfully nothing broke. I should have contacted the manufacturer about it..........for the safety of others.

[Tony T]

… I have found various foreign things in food before, (a large metal staple in Indian food, a metal shard on a donut, for instance) and never even considered contacting the establishments that served up that food.

Same here. Once found a drill shaving in a DD muffin. Didn't say anything, as thankfully, I found it when I cut the muffin to toast it.
In hindsight though, I should have said something in case there were contaminants in other muffins not yet sold.

[William]

I found a cigarette butt in a pizza once. It was under the melted cheese so it definitely got there in the kitchen while being made. I took it back and the owner had no explanation and offered to give me a free pizza. I passed for obvious reasons (insert barfing emoticon here).

Thankfully they went out of business a long time ago.











William

[malcolm]

I found a cigarette butt in a pizza once. It was under the melted cheese so it definitely got there in the kitchen while being made. I took it back and the owner had no explanation and offered to give me a free pizza. I passed for obvious reasons (insert barfing emoticon here).

Thankfully they went out of business a long time ago.

You just can't make some people happy. Pizza and after dinner smoke all in one. What more do you want?











William

You just can't make some people happy. Pizza and after dinner smoke all in one. What more do you want?

[apple]

Same here. Once found a drill shaving in a DD muffin. Didn't say anything, as thankfully, I found it when I cut the muffin to toast it.
In hindsight though, I should have said something in case there were contaminants in other muffins not yet sold.

This is what gets me. People finding staples metal shards and stuff in their food and not even considering calling the establishment to tell them? What if it's some sort of problem in the batch and many orders have staples in them and someone gets hurt.

I got to-go food the other day and while eating the mashed potatoes I bit into and cut my gum on some shards of hard plastic mixed in. You can bet I called the place to warn them to be on the lookout for glass shards in their current batch of potatoes! Of course they offered to compensate me, but I didn't accept anything as it was relatively minor in the long run. But I had enough concern for my fellow man to call and warn them at least.

[William]

You just can't make some people happy. Pizza and after dinner smoke all in one. What more do you want?

I ordered menthol!!!:butt:



:D:D:D
William

[palincss]

I was literally eating a piece of pizza, and the tooth broke. Clear cause and effect. Might it have broken if I was eating something else? Maybe. But, it didn't break when I was eating nuts earlier in the day, or pizza last week. Likely that it was something about that particular piece that led to it.

Utter nonsense.

[avalonracing]

I chipped a tooth on a Packing Staple that was in some Chinese food. I told them that I had, and showed them the staple. The said I didn't have to pay for me lunch... (mighty nice of them).

Even tough I had to go to the dentist to have the small chip checked out and smoothed I didn't follow up with the restaurant and was just damn happy I didn't swallow it because that could have required surgery to god knows what.

I also once found a big fake (I hope) fingernail in a MetRx bar. I let them know and they offered to replace the bar... (again, mighty nice of them).

[jruhlen1980]

Broke a tooth earlier tonight, going to dentist tomorrow. Will probably be a hefty bill.

Should I ask the pizzeria to cover some/all of the cost? I broke it on a hard piece of semolina on the bottom of the pizza, I believe. If I do ask, any ideas on how I should approach it and how likely I would be to get any help?


There are four questions here.
1) Can I ask for damages (in the title of the thread): Yes. You *can* ask anyone for anything.

2) Should I ask them to cover some/all of the cost? That's an ethical, moral, and economic question that only you can answer.

3) How should I approach it? I approach these situations with an attempt to use neutral, non-provoking language, stick to a plain statement of the facts, and maintain a professional and respectful tone throughout.

4) How likely is it to get any help? Who knows. Worst case scenario is that they say "no."

At no point did the OP indicate he was taking legal action. I'm amused by the number of responses that leapt straight to "OMG LITIGATION IS BAD".

[cadence90]

Staples, nails, metal shards, drill shavings, cigs, fingernails, etc.? :eek:
Didn't old spud even chip a tooth on a SHRAM rd screw in a poppy bagel once?


Where in the name of DDS's are you all eating?
Please PM me a list so that I can avoid all these places.
TIA! :)

[rugbysecondrow]

This is what gets me. People finding staples metal shards and stuff in their food and not even considering calling the establishment to tell them? What if it's some sort of problem in the batch and many orders have staples in them and someone gets hurt.

I got to-go food the other day and while eating the mashed potatoes I bit into and cut my gum on some shards of hard plastic mixed in. You can bet I called the place to warn them to be on the lookout for glass shards in their current batch of potatoes! Of course they offered to compensate me, but I didn't accept anything as it was relatively minor in the long run. But I had enough concern for my fellow man to call and warn them at least.

This is why I messaged the establishment (through FB). They said they use wire brushes to clean the mixers and equipment and the piece of wire must have broken off into the dough. I didn't go back for a few months, but their doughnuts are delicious and I have no other concerns about quality as they make the doughnuts fresh, in front of the customer. Just dumb luck.

The owner was mortified, sent me a check as a refund and two coupons for free dozens of doughnuts. I wasn't looking for that, but I was happy they did.

If they had been jerks, I probably would have posted something on social media or yelp, but since they were accommodating and took the concern seriously, I let it go.

[Louis]

You never know what you'll find, and where.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5288/5307794714_25d439274c.jpg

[bearcrawl]

Exact same thing happened to me when I was broke in my early twenties at an Italian place. They were actually really cool about it and did pay my bill. FWIW

[weisan]

Matt pal, i know you like statistical analysis. Have you done some graphing or number crunching on this? And would you mind creating a poll to make it easier for some of us to provide you with some inputs? :D

[Fivethumbs]

Hey Matt, you went to a bike forum for legal advice and you got bike forum-legal advice. Take it for what its worth. Having said that, there are a few different theories for recovering in a product liability suit such as strict liability, negligence, warranty, intentional act. Generally, there must be some type of defect with the product. There are a lot of questions including how did the defect get there. Was it poor design? Bad manufacturing? Were the ingredients improperly manufactured before the pizzeria even used them? Should they give patrons a warning? Unfortunately I think your question is too broad to get a reasonable answer on a bike forum.

[AJM100]

are there not pizza or dental fora on the inter webs?

Perhaps the moderators can move this post to a "sub" forum . . . (closest pun I could get to pizza) :butt:

[Cicli]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FPZ4yah3ROU

[1happygirl]

I did find a huge piece of what I thought was broken, misinformed glass in my Pizza.

I am a huge pizza eater (WHY Ima slow cyclist lol) anyway

contacted the pizza chain, talked to the manager and they were unconcerned. Very unconcerned. Unlike you no injury (sorry for your tooth btw)

But they offered to make me a free pizza (this was being begrudgingly given, but I turned it down. Why would I immediately want a pizza from this place. What were they thinking. I was really upset that they were so unconcerned as it was huge and If I had been a child? What then?

Anyway, I did call the health dept to report and have them do a random inspection.

Turned out it was the front from a scale that they use to measure the ingredients that they broke. One time occurrence maybe? If it was a routine thing, maybe ask, but just an accident? A once occurrence?

Was crazy that they were so unconcerned though. Wow, not meaning to diminish your suffering, but you are really lucky to have DENTAL ins IN ADDITION TO health ins.
Bottom line as others have said. Teeth wear. Find a good dentist, be thankful why we have ins. Small business owner is in the clear.

[Birddog]

Matt pal, i know you like statistical analysis. Have you done some graphing or number crunching on this? And would you mind creating a poll to make it easier for some of us to provide you with some inputs? :D

Poor choice of words under the circumstance Weisan, you could have demonstrated a little more sensitivity IMO. For a second there, I thought you wrote implants instead of inputs as well.

[cadence90]

Poor choice of words under the circumstance Weisan, you could have demonstrated a little more sensitivity IMO. For a second there, I thought you wrote implants instead of inputs as well.

Oooouuuch!!! :D

[Louis]

Is it safe? (to eat pizza)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-OviftusB8

[cadence90]

Is it safe? (to eat pizza)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-OviftusB8

Oh man, that movie gave me the creeps every time.

[soulspinner]

I ordered menthol!!!:butt:



:D:D:D
William

:p