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Fairfield County resident Allison Cozzi, of Greenwich, filed the suit against Rye Brook-based Chop't Creative Salad Company LLC on Monday, Nov. 27 after allegedly finding part of a severed finger inside her meal bought at a Chop't location in Northern Westchester County at 53 South Moger Ave. in Mount Kisco.
According to the lawsuit complaint filed in Westchester County Supreme Court, on Friday, April 7, Cozzi purchased a salad at the Chop't location.
Shortly after she began eating it, she realized that she was chewing on a part of a human finger that had allegedly been mixed in with the salad, the lawsuit says.
Additionally, the complaint also alleges that earlier in the same day, a manager working at the eatery had been chopping arugula when she chopped off a portion of her left pointer finger.
The manager then left the restaurant and was hospitalized, the complaint said, also detailing that the arugula she had been chopping was left on the service line and served to customers, including Cozzi.
After the incident, the Westchester County Department of Health investigated and eventually issued a $900 ticket to Chop't. This ticket was not contested or appealed by the company, and was paid, according to the lawsuit complaint.
As a result of the incident, the complaint said that Cozzi experienced shock, panic attacks, migraines, traumatic stress and anxiety, nausea, vomiting, and more.
The lawsuit also says that the restaurant was "careless and negligent in providing food that was contaminated and adulterated with a foreign object consisting of a portion of a human finger."
Cozzi is now seeking damages against Chop't as well as its parent company, Founders Table Restaurant Group LLC.
Daily Voice reached out to Chop't for comment but has not yet heard back.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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