Lawsuit filed in case of teen who died after eating spicy chip as part of online challenge

BOSTON (AP) — A lawsuit was filed Thursday against Hershey, Walgreens and several others in the case of a Massachusetts teen who died after he participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge that was widely promoted on social media.

Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from the city of Worcester, died September 1, 2023, after eating the Paqui chip as part of the manufacturer’s “One Chip Challenge.” An autopsy found Wolobah died after eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect.

Harris died of cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration,” according to the autopsy from the Chief Office of the Medical Examiner. Capsaicin is the component that gives chile peppers their heat. The autopsy also said Harris had cardiomegaly, meaning an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect described 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,” said Douglas Sheff, one of the attorneys representing the family in the lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Court. The lawsuit seeks a judgement determined by the court that would include punitive damages.

Sheff said the parties created “a perfect storm” that led to Wolobah’s death that included Paqui producing the spicy chip and encouraging people to post videos of themselves eating the chip on social media while the lawsuit alleged Walgreens sold the “poisonous chip” to children.

“The defendants charged about $10 for each chip, $10 for the chip that killed Harris, $10 for his life,” Sheff said. “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?”

Lois and Amos Wolobah, the parents of Harris, attended the news conference but did not speak. But at several points, Amos Wolobah appeared to become emotional and Lois seemed to blow a kiss to a photo that was shown of Harris.

The autopsy said Harris Wolobah had cardiomegaly, meaning an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect described as “myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery.” But Sheff was adamant that had nothing to do with his death.

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