Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Woman Deems Starburst “Dangerously Chewy”

Next time you feel like living on the edge, there’s no need to go sky diving or ski jumping. Simply bite into a Starburst fruit chew, cross your fingers, and hang on for dear life…

Michigan Woman Claims Starburst Candies Are Dangerously Chewy in Lawsuit

Starburst Fruit Chews are exactly as their name would indicate: chewy. But one Michigan woman says the candies are so chewy, they should come with a warning label.

Victoria McArthur, of Romero, Mich., is suing Starbursts’ parent company, Mars Inc., for more than $25,000 for “permanent personal injuries” she claims she sustained after biting into one of their yellow candy in 2005.
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I think we need to take whatever steps necessary to keep this woman away from jawbreakers.

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13 Comments

  • My jaw hit the floor when I read this story. Can I sue this woman for damages?

    • By Kent

  • Don’t blame her, blame the idiot lawyer that filed the suit … AND the judge that allowed it to be filed.

    • By Dick

  • This part confuses me:

    “…and it literally locked my jaw … and it just literally pulled my jaw out of joint,]

    So it locked her jaw, then somehow pulled it out of joint?

    In other news, I plan to sue the local water company for not warning me of the dangers of hyponatremia.

    • By Vekrin

  • Jawbreakers? Have you ever tried Jujyfruits? That candy will pull your fillings out! (Not that I think that’s a cause of action or anything.)

    • By Gino

  • Well, Kent, if you had only been chewing on one of those yellow Starbursts you wouldn’t have had that problem. ;-).

    Perhaps we can expect the makers of Starbursts to rebrand their product to be AntiJawDroppers. Which given the current insanity of our judicical system, may be necessary for continued reading of this site.

    I wonder if I could sue Judge Pearson for the TMJ I got when I first read of his foolishness.

    • By Bumper

  • It really sound like the tag line of a new ad campaign:

    “Starburst. Dangerously Chewy!”

  • Milk Duds are a far greater threat!

    • By Peter

  • and once again my great state is shamed =[

    • By matt

  • Frito-Lay markets Cheetos as “dangerously cheesy.” They are now on notice.

    • By pj

  • I would just like to state that TMJ is an inheireted disorder which causes your jaw and muscles to “lock” this locking is due to the twisting of the musclature in the jaw. You CANNOT get TMJ from eating ANYTHING, you cannot get TMJ from hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, you cannot get TMJ because you aren’t attractive enough to get noticed without causing a scene. If a judge allows this to continue, I hope Mars, Inc. is smart enough to bring in an Oral Surgeon to explain that this woman is insane, not suffering from TMJ.

    • By Jacqui

  • However, Starburst absolutely deserves to be sued for this.

    And as for Cheetos, they better make sure they stay away from sharp cheddar. That could really hurt someone.

  • TMJ is not an inherited disorder – it can be acquired through over-opening the jaw beyond its range for the individual or unusually aggressive or repetitive sliding of the jaw sideways (laterally) or forward (protrusive). These movements may also be due to wayward habits or a malalignment of the jaw or dentition. This may be due to:
    Modification of the occlusal surfaces of the teeth through dentistry or accidental trauma.
    Sleeping on one’s stomach causing strain on the face, neck and lower jaw.
    Speech habits resulting in jaw thrusting.
    Excessive gum chewing or nail biting.
    Excessive jaw movements associated with exercise.
    Repetitive unconscious jaw movements associated with bruxing.
    Size of foods eaten.

    • By EZ

  • EZ,

    Those things aren’t TMJ.

    • By Deoxy