Damages for man who broke two teeth biting into pizza

A 36-year-old engineer, who broke two teeth after biting into a sharp piece of metal while eating a delivery pizza, has been awarded €31,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.

Alan Blake said the court that when in June 2012 he ate the pizza he had ordered from Domino's Pizza, he felt a crunch in the left side of his mouth.

Mr Blake, of Beechdale Court, Ballycullen Road, Firhouse, Dublin, said that when he spat out the content of his mouth he discovered a sharp one-and-a-half inch piece of metal mixed with the food.

He told his barrister, Matthew Jolley, that he contacted Domino's and a manager came to his home immediately. The man took the piece of metal away to carry out an investigation.

Mr Blake told the court that he had later felt discomfort and pain when chewing food and had needed to attend his dentist. X-rays had revealed that he had suffered two fractured molars.

He had needed to undergo a dental crowns treatment, which the court heard has been paid by K&M Pizza Ltd, which trades as Domino’s Pizza. Mr Blake said he avoids certain type of food to not damage the crowns.

Mr Jolley told Judge James O’Donohoe that the company, had admitted liability and today’s case was now one of an assessment of damages only.

Domino’s Pizza claimed Mr Blake had delayed the treatment.

Judge O’Donohoe said he was satisfied that Mr Blake had delayed his treatment for financial reasons and it had not caused further damage to his teeth.

The judge, awarding Mr Blake €31,000 damages, said Domino’s Pizza must be commended for the manner they dealt with his “serious and traumatic” incident.

The case was adjourned to the next legal term to determine the costs of future crowns replacements.