Ohio court rules that so-called "boneless chicken wings" can, in fact, contain bones

When it comes to what constitutes chicken wings, there is now a legal precedent. In a 4-3 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that, when ordering “boneless chicken wings,” the presence of bone fragments should not be unexpected.

“There is no breach of a duty when the consumer could have reasonably expected and guarded against the presence of the injurious substance in the food,” Justice Joe Deters wrote for the majority.

According to the court, given that bones are part of a chicken there is no reason to not expect parts of them to show up when ordering so-called “boneless” wings, which are of course generally chunks of meat from the breast and other parts of the chicken.

'The wrong pipe'

The court case dates back to 2016, when Michael Berkheimer ordered boneless wings with parmesan garlic sauce at Wings on Brookwood, a restaurant about 30 miles north of Cincinnati.

When Berkheimer began to eat his third boneless wing, however, he felt “something go down the wrong pipe.”

He unsuccessfully tried clearing his throat and later that night, started to run a fever. The next day, a doctor removed the chicken bone but Berkheimer ended up with an infection and endured two surgeries, according to the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.

In 2017, Berkheimer sued the restaurant owners as well as the chicken suppliers and processors. The Butler County Common Pleas Court trial judge decided that consumers should be on guard against the possibility of bones in boneless chicken. The 12th District Court of Appeals agreed. The Ohio Supreme Court heard the case in December 2023.

According to Judge Deters, though, "A diner reading 'boneless wings' on a menu would no more believe that the restaurant was warranting the absence of bones in the items than believe that the items were made from chicken wings, just as a person eating 'chicken fingers' would know that he had not been served fingers," adding that "The food item’s label on the menu described a cooking style; it was not a guarantee."

"Utter jabberwocky."

Opinions on the case within the Ohio Supreme Court were heavily disputed.

“The result in this case is another nail in the coffin of the American jury system,” wrote Justice Michael Donnelly. "In my view, the majority opinion makes a factual determination to ensure that a jury does not have a chance to apply something the majority opinion lacks − common sense."

Donnelly also called definition of “boneless chicken wings” as a cooking style rather than a definitive definition of the food being served as “utter jabberwocky.”

Donnelly concluded that, “Still, you have to give the majority its due; it realizes that boneless wings are not actually wings and that chicken fingers are not actually fingers.” The ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court comes just a few days before National Chicken Wing Day on July 29, which will see poultry afficionados able to partake in all parts of the chicken regardless of the presence of bone, at participating restaurants around the country