A resident of New York has taken legal action against a local Mediterranean restaurant after claiming to have found a human body part in her meal. The restaurant’s owner has vehemently rejected the claim, calling it ‘slander’.
The legal complaint, as reported by People Magazine, was lodged in the New York County Supreme Court on August 7.
In the lawsuit, Corcoran realtor Mary Elizabeth Smith alleged that she was left ‘permanently traumatized’ after discovering a human finger in her food.
Smith, a 43-year-old living in Chelsea, stated she ordered a chicken wrap ‘to go’ from Create in Astoria, Queens, where she dined regularly, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
Upon biting into her takeaway meal, she claimed to have found ‘human tissue, a fingertip’, as detailed by Smith’s attorney, Robert Menna.
“Luckily, she didn’t swallow it. But it still traumatized her,” Menna said in a statement to People.
Teddy Karagiannis, the owner of Create, has firmly denied the accusations.
The complaint also claimed that the restaurant’s ‘negligence’ led Smith to experience ‘serious injuries and suffer pain, shock, and mental anguish.’
Smith has been undergoing rigorous antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent potential diseases from the fingertip exposure.
She also reportedly offered to pay doctors ‘$75’ at a medical appointment to identify the object as anything other than a fingertip.
Karagiannis has issued several statements defending his establishment to People and the New York Post.
He told People that the lawsuit against the restaurant was ‘completely fraudulent’ and ‘ludicrous’.
Karagiannis, who intends to countersue Smith for ‘slander’, noted that all food at the restaurant, including the chicken wrap, undergoes numerous inspection points before being served.
“It’s impossible. It cannot happen in my style of operation,” he told the publication.
In a statement to the Post, Karagiannis questioned Menna’s claim that lab tests confirmed the human tissue was female.
“I never have female employees working the prep line,” he asserted.
Smith, however, insists she saw a woman working at Create on the day she bought the meal.
The restaurant owner also noted that Smith has refused ‘DNA testing’ on the fingertip, which he believes would demonstrate it didn’t originate from any of his employees.
He also speculated that Smith might have picked up the finger from the street.
When questioned about the fingertip’s potential origin, Smith told the Post: “I really wish it hadn’t happened.”
According to Menna, the situation has been ‘horrifying’ for his client.
He also stated that Create’s insurance company, Liberty Mutual, has denied the allegations.
This denial comes despite Menna claiming to have provided photographs of the fingertip and a forensic report.
“So we will let the court take care of it,” he told People.
The alleged incident has left Smith ‘very cautious about anything that [she is] eating.
“It took me a really long time to work up the courage to eat chicken again. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”
Further comments have been requested from Create and Liberty Mutual.