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Product Liability
Choking Incident
Jing-Li vs. Sheng Hsiang Jen Foods Company Ltd.
Verdict: $50 Million
July 11, 2003
  • Hongli Jing and Aibing Li came to the United States to attend graduate school at Brown University. Hongli obtained a masters in computer science, and Aibing obtained a Ph.D. in geophysics. They moved to Pocasset, MA and had their first child, Jeffrey.
  • Thursday, February 22, 2001: Hongli picked up Jeffrey from day care and returned home. Sitting on the living room couch with Jeffrey on his lap, Hongli gave Jeffrey a mini gel snack. Immediately Jeffrey began to choke. Hongli attempted to dislodge the gel snack by performing lifesaving techniques. When this failed, he contacted emergency response who instructed him how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver; the Heimlich maneuver failed to dislodge the gel piece. Three paramedics arrived at the residence within 5 minutes of the 911 call. By then, Jeffrey was without a pulse.
  • The emergency response team desperately attempted to dislodge the gel piece but failed in their efforts. Jeffrey was transported to Falmouth Hospital, revived, then flown by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital. Jeffrey's injuries included anoxic brain injury, complete neurological devastation, and tetraplegia. Jeffrey's physical condition worsened to a persistant vegetative state within days after admittance to Massachusetts General. Doctors advised Hongli and his wife, Aibing Li, that their son's prognosis was hopeless. Jeffrey died on March 3, 2001.
  • July 11, 2003: San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum awarded $50 million dollars to the parents of Jeffrey Jing against defendant Sheng Hsiang Jen Foods Company, Ltd.


    • Links

  • Candy choking case set for San Mateo trial
  • Judge orders Taiwan candy company to pay $50 million
  • Jing–Li case continues candy

    Jeffrey Jing
    Jeffrey Jing
 
Description of Konjac Mini Gel Candies
Konjac, a food "binder," is the common ingredient to all Mini Gel Snacks.
Attributes: konjac causes the gel to become much more viscid and harder to break down with the tongue: sixteen times harder than jello™. When frozen - which the manufacturer recommended - the gel is almost impossible to break down in the mouth.
Names: gel or jelly candies, konjac or conjac candies, konnyaaku candies, mini gel candies, nata de coco candies, and fruit poppers.
Packaging: small (17 grams), thimble–shaped plastic containers come in 18 cup cellophane packages or 75–100 cup 2 liter plastic jugs.
Flavors: strawberry, apple, grape, pineapple, lychee, mango, passion fruit, and taro.
Many mini gel candies encase an opaque, chewy cube known as nata de coco, which is in fact compressed coconut.
Manufactured primarily in Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.