united-states
I found a stick pin in my mouth after a bite of peanut butter. Can I sue the company and win?
<p>I took a bite of peanut butter and found a stickpin in my mouth and I almost swallowed it. It was a brand new jar and still had the seal on it. I don't know why a stickpin would be in peanut butter, but do i have valid grounds to sue?</p>

<p>As a lawsuit, it doesn't make sense in U.S. law unless you have suffered significant injuries. Your damages are likely to be, at most, nominal ($1) if you discovered it before you were hurt, so you'd only lose the money spent replacing the jar of peanut butter with a non-defective one and the nominal $1 damages.</p>
<p>You would not generally have a right to any of your attorneys' fees and personal time spent on a lawsuit like that which would likely cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on an hourly basis (no attorney would take a case like that on a contingency basis), and would take hundreds of hours of your own personal time.</p>

<p>It's a bit disturbing that you consider a lawsuit your first, rather than final, recourse. The purpose of the legal system is to have the government force someone to do something they refuse to do otherwise. It isn't supposed to be a system for submitting invoices. You should contact the company, and only if (and probably not even then) they refuse to provide compensation should you consider a lawsuit. If you do file a lawsuit, the question would arise as to what damages you can claim. The simple existence of tortious conduct does not justify a lawsuit without damages as well.</p>

<p>It's up to you to decide whether you should, though you ought to consult an attorney to see if the costs outweigh the benefits. The main question is, in what way were you harmed by this object? Don't tell us, tell your attorney. Obviously, the cost of fixing the broken tooth or whatever other physical damage ensued would be part of the damages; also loss of income or even potential income if the damage affected your career as a trumpet player. There is always the potential for emotional damage arising from the trauma. Under the circumstances, the manufacturer might be willing to settle. OTOH stickpin in two different brands of peanut butter (unless this is the same manufacturer, different outlets) is stunningly unlikely, so you would have an uphill battle to convince the jury that it was the manufacturer's fault.</p>
