Family of Massachusetts teenager Harris Wolobah files lawsuit – NBC Boston

Lawyers will announce details of a lawsuit filed Thursday in connection with the death of a Worcester, Massachusetts, teenager related to a spicy food trend known as the “One Chip Challenge.”

Harris Wolobah’s family is expected to attend the press conference in Boston at 11 a.m. It will be streamed live on this page.

Harris died on September 1, 2023, after eating the chip made by Paqui. An autopsy later revealed that the 14-year-old sophomore at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester had died from ingesting a substance containing high levels of the chili extract capsaicin.

A lawsuit “regarding the wrongful and tragic death of Harris Wolobah” is to be filed in Suffolk Supreme Court, lawyers at the law firm Sheff & Cook said in a statement on Wednesday. They said representatives of the Wolobah family were expected to attend the hearing.

“The Wolobahs hope that this case, which could have national and even international implications, sends a message to anyone who markets dangerous products to children, especially through social media,” the statement said.

Harris Wolobah’s mother confirmed to NBC10 Boston that the family believes the teenager died as a result of the One Chip Challenge. However, the results of the autopsy are still pending.

It was not immediately clear who would be named in the lawsuit.

Paqui took the product off shelves shortly after Harris’ death. After the autopsy results were released in May, the company, a subsidiary of Hershey Co., released this statement, pointing out that the product was labeled as for adults only:

We were and continue to be deeply saddened by the passing of Harris Wolobah and extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends. Paquis One Chip Challenge was intended for adults only, and clear and prominent labeling indicated that the product is not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or with underlying medical conditions. We received increasing reports of teens and others ignoring these warnings. Although the product met food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from shelves in September 2023, and the One Chip Challenge was discontinued.

The company issued the statement Wednesday in response to a request for comment from NBC10 Boston.

In their statement Wednesday, lawyers for Sheff & Cook said the chip was readily available at a Worcester-area Walgreens store and that Harris died within hours of eating it.

Before the autopsy results were released, Harris’ mother confirmed to NBC10 Boston that the family believes he died as a result of the One Chip Challenge.

The autopsy also revealed that Wolobah suffered from cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect described as “myocardial bypass of the left anterior descending coronary artery.”

A myocardial bridge occurs when a section of a large heart artery runs within the heart muscle rather than on its surface, explains Dr. James Udelson, chief of cardiology at Tufts Medical Center.

“It is possible that when the heart was strongly stimulated, the muscle behind the pons suddenly had abnormal blood flow (‘ischemia’) and this could have been a cause of a severe arrhythmia,” Udelson said in an email to the Associated Press at the time. “There are reports of acute toxicity from capsaicin causing ischemia of the heart muscle.”

High doses of capsaicin can increase heart muscle contraction, putting additional pressure on the artery, notes Dr. Syed Haider, a cardiologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

While autopsy results suggest that Harris was likely more vulnerable to the adverse effects of the chili extract because of a heart defect, even people without risk factors can develop serious heart problems from taking large amounts of capsaicin, Haider said.

Udelson and Haider both spoke generally; neither was involved in Harris’ case.

Harris’ cause of death was determined on Feb. 27, and a death certificate was delivered to the Worcester City Council on March 5, according to Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The state only released the cause and manner of death. Authorities will not release a full report, which is not considered part of the public record, she said.

The Paqui chip, which sold individually for about $10, was wrapped in foil and packaged in a coffin-shaped box that contained a warning that it was intended for the “vengeful pleasure of intense heat and pain.” The warning stated that the chip was for adult consumption only and should be kept out of the reach of children.

The family of 14-year-old Harris Wolobah, who died on Friday, says the viral infection led to the death of the Worcester schoolboy.

Despite the warning, children had no problem buying the chips, and there have been reports from across the country of teens getting sick after participating in the chip-eating challenge. Among them were three California high school students who were taken to a hospital and seven students in Minnesota who were treated by paramedics after taking part in the challenge in 2022.

Harris’ death prompted warnings from Massachusetts authorities and doctors that eating such spicy foods could have unintended consequences. Since the advent of the chip trend, poison control centers have warned that the concentrated amount could cause allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeats and even heart attacks or strokes.

The challenge required participants to eat the Paqui chip and then see how long they could go without other food and water. Sales of the chip seemed to be boosted largely by people posting videos on social media of themselves or their friends taking on the challenge. They showed people, including children, unwrapping the packaging, eating the chips and then reacting to the heat. Some videos showed people choking, coughing and begging for water.