Burger King, ex-soldier at odds over needle claim

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/10/burger-king-exsoldier-odds-over-needle-claim

Burger King, ex-soldier at odds over needle claim
By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
The Associated Press
© October 1, 2014

HONOLULU

The former soldier suing Burger King because he swallowed needles in a sandwich said he didn't return to Hawaii for a settlement conference because he had to work and his lawyers say the corporation hasn't taken negotiations seriously.

It's the latest in a squabble between the parties about who is to blame for failed attempts to settle the lawsuit by Clark Bartholomew, who said he was injured when he bit into a Triple Stacker purchased from a Burger King on a Hawaii base in 2010. His lawsuit said one needle pierced his tongue and another was lodged in his small intestine.

An attorney for Miami-based Burger King filed a motion last month asking for a dismissal, a fine and attorney's fees because Bartholomew didn't attend the Sept. 10 settlement conference in federal court in Honolulu.

Bartholomew, who has since medically retired from the Army and lives in Chantilly, Va., said in a declaration filed in court earlier this week that he didn't attend because he recently started working as a U.S. Park Police dispatcher and couldn't take time off.