Family of Teen Who Died After Spicy 'One Chip Challenge' Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The family of Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit following his tragic death after participating in a social media trend, the "One Chip Challenge." The lawsuit, filed on Thursday (July 11), alleges that the Paqui brand, owned by the Hershey Co., and Walgreens, where the chip was purchased, are responsible for Harris's death on September 1, 2023.
Harris Wolobah, a student at Doherty High School, consumed a Paqui chip given to him by a friend. The chip is known for its extreme spiciness due to a high concentration of capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers. Harrison fainted at school shortly after eating the chip and collapsed again upon returning home. Wolobah was then rushed to the hospital, where he later died. An autopsy revealed that Harris died of cardiopulmonary arrest triggered by the ingestion of the highly spicy chip. The medical examiner noted that Harris also had an enlarged heart and a congenital heart defect, conditions previously unknown to his family.
The lawsuit claims that Paqui marketed the "One Chip Challenge" to children, despite clear warnings on the packaging that it was not intended for minors or individuals with underlying health conditions. The individually sold chip contained explicit warnings about its intended "vengeful pleasure of intense heat and pain" on the packaging. However, the product was easily accessible to minors, leading to widespread participation in the challenge, which involved eating the chip and enduring the intense heat without consuming food or water. Social media platforms were flooded with videos of individuals, including children, reacting severely to the challenge, exhibiting symptoms such as gagging, coughing, and begging for relief.
Attorney Douglas Sheff, representing the Wolobah family, emphasized that Paqui's marketing strategies effectively targeted children, encouraging them to post videos of themselves consuming the chip. He alleges this tactic "subjected our children to being brainwashed into thinking that eating a chip was somehow cool." Sheff also highlighted multiple instances from across the country where children and adults fell ill or were hospitalized after taking part in the challenge, stressing the dangerous nature of the product.
Paqui issued a statement expressing sadness over Harris's death and extending condolences to his family. The company reiterated that the chip was intended for adult consumption only and emphasized that it had worked with retailers to remove the product from shelves in September 2023 out of an abundance of caution. Despite these actions, Sheff maintains that both Paqui and Walgreens should be held accountable for their roles in Harris's death. It has not been disclosed if the family is seeking monetary compensation.
