Topline
A Connecticut woman is suing the fast-casual salad chain Chopt, after she alleged she found a piece of an employee’s severed finger in her salad.
The Connecticut woman allegedly discovered the piece of the finger after chewing on a portion of it … [+]
Key Facts
Allison Cozzi filed a lawsuit Monday against Chopt after purchasing a salad in April at the Mount Kisco, New York, location of the chain and finding a piece of the manager’s finger in her salad, according to the suit, which was first reported by the Associated Press.
In the lawsuit, Cozzi said that she realized what happened when “she was chewing on a portion of a human finger that had been mixed in to, and made a part of, the salad.”
The suit alleges a manager at Chopt accidentally severed part of her left pointer finger while chopping arugula.
Since the incident, Cozzi suffered panic attacks, migraine, cognitive impairment, nausea and other effects from eating the contaminated salad, the suit alleges.
Chopt did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
What We Don’t Know
It’s unclear how many people, if any others besides Cozzi, were served the contaminated arugula.
Big Number
$900. That’s how much Chopt was fined earlier this year, according to Westchester County health department records.
Key Background
This incident at Chopt is not the first time a chain restaurant has come under fire this year for serving contaminated dishes. In August, a man sued Olive Garden after alleging he found a piece of a rat’s foot in his minestrone soup. Before this year, there were a number of recorded instances of people finding human fingers in their food, NPR reported. In 2012, a 14-year-old in Michigan found a piece of a finger in his Arby’s sandwich. A few years earlier in 2006, an Indiana diner at TGI Friday’s found a finger on his burger, according to the Associated Press. The restaurant employee cut his finger in the kitchen and didn’t realize what had happened until he got to the hospital, the TGI Friday’s spokesperson told the AP. In 2004, David Scheiding discovered “a piece of flesh about three-fourths of an inch long” when he bit into his Arby’s sandwich at an Ohio location of the chain restaurant, the AP reported. He later sued Arby’s for $50,000.
Further Reading
A History Of Human Fingers Found In Fast Food (NPR)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/11/28/woman-sues-chopt-after-allegedly-finding-severed-finger-in-salad/