Should marshmallows carry a warning label?  Laura had just finished her shift as a waitress and bought a bag of large marshmallows for the kids.  The next morning while she was asleep, one of the kids climbed up on the counter, retrieved the bag of marshmallows, and gave some to his younger brother.  Within a few minutes, the child starting choking.  A man who was visiting performed the Heimlich maneuver, but the child continued choking, was rushed to the hospital where a small liquefied piece of marshmallow was removed from his airway.  He sustained brain damage, and Laura sued, claiming marshmallows are dangerous to consumers, who should be warned of the choking hazard.  The Court that first heard the case held marshmallows possess no inherently dangerous characteristics, but Laura appealed, and the Appeals Court reversed holding that marshmallows are dangerous for children, that while they appear soft and innocuous, they continue to expand after entering the airway.  One Judge dissented, but the majority ruled and although the law may getting soft, marshmallows may soon carry a warning label at the result of a case that turned out not to be a lot of fluff after all.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

Chad Emery and Laura Emery vs. Federated Foods, Inc., et al., Supreme Court of Montana, 11/18/93, Gray, J., 262 Mont. 83, 863 p. 2d 426

Podcast: Download