popeyes customers sue for $1.5m over 'condom-like' object in chicken
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nobody thinks of practicing safe sex when biting into a piece of popeyes chicken.
two customers of the fast-food chain in houston, texas, were repulsed after eating fried chicken they claim had a “condom-like foreign object.”
justin howard and danielle mckinnon are taking popeyes to court, seeking more than $1.5 million in damages.
in a petition filed in court on aug. 3, howard and mckinnon said they bought chicken from popeyes on july 25. howard bit into a piece of chicken and allegedly “immediately discovered what appeared to be a condom-like foreign object embedded within the chicken.”
“the meal appeared ordinary. it was not,” they wrote in the petition, per people.
‘deeply disturbing and frightening’
in the petition, the two customers noted finding the foreign object “instantly transformed what should have been an ordinary family meal into a deeply disturbing and frightening event.”
mckinnon and howard immediately stopped eating and “became physically nauseated.”
“they were horrified by the possibility that they had already ingested contaminated food before discovering the object,” alleged the petition. it noted the two customers were afraid of being exposed to bodily fluids, bacteria, sexually transmitted diseases, and other substances.
the customers also allege they had no way of knowing what the object they found was, how long it had been in the food, and whether “contamination had spread through the meal.”
howard and mckinnon accuse the houston popeyes location and its owner, restaurant brands international, of engaging in “heinous conduct” and violating “fundamental safety rules,” as well as not treating complaints “as public health concerns.”
they said popeyes failed its duty of “protecting every customer.”
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no evidence to back claim, restaurant says
in a statement to people, popeyes said it has “looked at extensive internal video and saw no evidence to validate this claim.”
“regardless, it is unacceptable, and the franchisee immediately issued a refund to the guest and out of an abundance of caution closed the restaurant early for re-training.”
the former fried chicken customers claimed in the petition that restaurant employees laughed and humiliated them upon returning to the restaurant to alert them of their findings. howard and mckinnon alleged management “repeatedly” tried to replace the chicken rather than investigate or refund them.
the customers were eventually refunded.
the duo say they continue to feel physical, emotional and mental anguish from the ordeal. the damages they seek are for health-care expenses, pain, lost wages and more.
they accuse the chicken chain of negligence for allegedly failing to train its workers adequately, enforce quality control over its product, and maintain a safe food preparation environment.
howard and mckinnon are demanding a jury trial, per people.
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