A lawsuit has been filed by the family of the Massachusetts teen who died after suffering complications from eating a very spicy chip in an attempt to partake in a viral social media challenge.
According to The Associated Press, the defendants named in the lawsuit filed by the family of Harris Wolobah include Hershey and Walgreens. As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Wolobah, a 14-year-old 10th grader, was partaking in the viral “One Chip Challenge” when he suffered medical complications. He passed away on September 1, 2023, and autopsy results stated that he had a congenital heart defect.
The autopsy results further stated that Wolobah’s death stemmed from his consumption of a large portion of chile pepper extract. Harris’ cause of death was ruled as cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration.” Capsaicin, per ScienceDirect, is the “main chemical component of chili pepper.”
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The autopsy also revealed that Harris had an enlarged heart – a condition known as cardiomegaly. He also suffered a congenital defect explained as “myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery.”
“Today we filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of this wonderful family for the loss of their beloved son, Harris,” Douglas Sheff, one of the attorneys representing the family in the lawsuit, said. The lawsuit, which was filed in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday, is seeking punitive damages and other rulings.
Sheff claimed Wolobah’s death stemmed from the defendants creating “a perfect storm” which involved Paqui producing the spicy chip and urging people to share social media videos of them consuming the chip. The lawsuit also accused Walgreens of allowing children to buy the “poisonous chip”, The Associated Press reported.
“The defendants charged about $10 for each chip, $10 for the chip that killed Harris, $10 for his life,” said Sheff. “Isn’t it clear that these defendants knew full well that this chip was unreasonably dangerous? And isn’t this an obvious marketing campaign designed to attract kids to that very danger?”
And though the autopsy stated that Wolobah had a congenital heart defect, Sheff said that condition did not play a role in the 14-year-old’s death. “The chip is what killed him,” he said.
The social media challenge involved participants eating what was deemed the world’s spiciest tortilla chip. Participants who ate the chip had to wait for a long while before consuming either water or food to alleviate the burning sensation. The chip, a product of Paqui and packaged in a coffin, had a warning that stated it should be kept out of children’s reach. People who either have an allergen or react to spicy food were also advised not to consume the chip.
But it wasn’t difficult for children to buy the spicy chip despite the warning. In 2022, school principals in California’s Bay Area sent out a warning about the chip, stating that students who consumed the chip had to be sent home, per NBC10 Boston.
Paqui’s web page for the challenge also stated that any participant who experienced breathing issues, fainted, or experienced prolonged nausea had to seek medical care. Paqui in an initial statement made mention of the chip’s “clear and prominent labeling highlighting that the product was not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or with underlying health conditions.”
“We saw increased reports of teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings,” the statement added. “As a result, while the product adhered to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from shelves in September 2023, and the One Chip Challenge has been discontinued.”
