Fast Food Fingers

Although the woman who "discovered" a finger in her chili at Wendy's has been arrested for attempted grand theft, here is a different story about getting the finger from a fast-food outlet [thanks to Jack for the pointer]:

...he realized something wasn't right when he bit into the sandwich on June 18 and found a piece of flesh about three-fourths of an inch long.

"It looked like I was seeing fingerprints on it," he said. "I got sick and went to the bathroom."

Miami County health investigators talked to the restaurant manager, who had a bandage on his right thumb and wore a latex glove, according to a health district report. The manager said he sliced skin from the thumb while shredding lettuce, and sanitized the area but didn't throw away the bin of lettuce, the report said. Scheiding's sandwich contained lettuce.

The victim is suing for over $50,000, which strikes me as a paltry sum in our litigious society. Arby's [the firm in question] should cut a cheque today.

Furthermore, their managers should be given a two-day course [I'm available] on risks and expected costs. As I would ask my economic analysis of law students:

• What is the risk?
• Who is the least-cost bearer of the risk?

That helps us understand where the efficient assignment of liability lies.