Chunk in Skippy peanut butter causes tooth to split, suit says

A St. Clair County man claims he lost a tooth after he bit into a peanut butter sandwich containing a hard substance the size of a pencil eraser.

Roger Benson filed a lawsuit Dec. 13 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Unilever United States, Wal-Mart and Unilever Illinois Manufacturing.

In his complaint, Benson alleges he purchased Skippy peanut butter manufactured by defendant Unilever from defendant Wal-Mart in late October or early November.

On Nov. 18, Benson made a peanut butter sandwich at his home. He bit into the sandwich, and his tooth struck a hard, nut shell-like substance that caused his tooth to split, according to the complaint.

Because of the incident, Benson was forced to undergo oral surgery to remove the damaged tooth and incurred medical and dental costs of more than $10,000, the suit states. He also suffers from headaches and physical and mental pain and sustained the loss of a tooth, the complaint says.

In his suit, Benson seeks an unspecified judgment, plus costs.

David M. Duree of David M. Duree and Associates in O'Fallon will be representing him.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 11-L-679.