It’s The Pits: ‘Chick-Fil-A Gave Me A Heart Attack,’ Woman Claims

A woman who visited a Texas Chick-fil-A in May claims in a lawsuit filed in a State District Court in Dallas County that biting into an “improperly de-pitted” maraschino cherry that came on top of her milkshake fractured her teeth, and as a result, gave her a heart attack, reports the Houston Chronicle.

She’s also suing the company that provided the cherries, a New York businesses, claiming that the company, which failed to properly de-pit the maraschino cherry, added to her medical problem.

“As a producer, supplier and distributor of maraschino cherries to restaurants or food establishments throughout the United States, including Texas, failed to use that degree of care that would be used by a maraschino cherry de-pitting owner or company of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances.”

While rare, dental decay and sepsis is medically related to heart disease through numerous research studies. What remains unclear is if the woman sought medical treatment right away for her fractured teeth. In usual circumstances, infection from the teeth lead to “vegetable lesions” in the heart valves, which can cause blood clot formation and ultimately lead to a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.

Cyndi Scruggs purchased the shake from a location in McKinney, near Plano, on May 10. But when she put the maraschino cherry into her mouth, she discovered that it had not been “properly de-pitted,” as the legalese of her petition states. She did not realize this until she had already bitten down on the pit that had been sucked through her straw, and broken two of her teeth below the gum-line.

Scruggs, who has since moved to Colorado, is suing both the chain and its cherry supplier (Dell’s Maraschino Cherries Co. Inc. in New York) for between $200,000 and $1 million to cover medical expenses, “physical pain, disfigurement, impairment, and mental anguish,” reports the Dallas Observer.

While it’s the first time Chick-fil-A has been sued due to a cherry pit, it is not the first time the franchise has encountered legal woes for their known-Christian environment and alleged discrimination of other religious observances. Chick-fil-A is a popular food chain that is closely on Sunday in reference to Christian Sabbath practices, and has even portrayed what some construe as alleged “anti-gay” sentiment.

Chick-fil-A remains one of the top fast food chains in the U.S., and it remains unclear if they are addressing the situation, changing practices, or making a public statement regarding the woman’s alleged injury.

[image credit to The Houston Chronicle]