A San Francisco woman will receive $2.5 million in compensation from Foster Poultry Farms and the operator of a South San Francisco Round Table restaurant, where the woman was "gravely injured" by a chicken bone in her pizza, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Calla Felicity, 59, swallowed a 1.2-inch chicken bone while eating a barbecue chicken pizza on Feb. 13, 2010, according to the newspaper. The bone became lodged in her throat, and its sharp sides pierced her esophagus in two places, the newspaper reported.
The injury nearly killed her and required more than a month in the hospital as well as 11 surgeries to repair, the newspaper reported. Felicity was awarded $500,000 to cover medical bills and $2 million for pain and suffering by a Contra Costa jury, the newspaper reported.
At trial, the jury found Foster Farms and Pizza Bytes, a Santa Clara company that operated the Round Table location, equally responsible for the injury, the newspaper reported. Foster Farms was found liable for leaving bone splinters in its chicken tenders.
During the trial, it was revealed that there were 206 customer complaints about bones in Foster Farms chicken strips between 2005 and 2010, Felicity's attorney, Chuck Geerhart, said. Many of the complaints involved children choking, the newspaper reported.
Foster Farms released the following statement Friday:
"We regret the injuries claimed by Ms. Felicity caused by a chicken bone. The product involved in this case was sold to restaurants as an ingredient and not sold at retail. Foster Farms has maintained an outstanding food safety record for more than seventy years. Consumers have relied on Foster Farms for generations, and can be assured that the company takes all possible steps to deliver products that are nutritious and safe to consume."
