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A New York City woman is suing Chipotle, Doordash And the “Dasher” who delivered her food left after claiming he “bit a mouse” hiding in her burrito bowl.
Gia Bernhardt, 24, says the experience caused her “pain, shock and severe mental distress” and that “these injuries and their effects will be permanent,” according to a civil complaint. Independent,
On January 11, Bernhardt ordered a burrito bowl and chips and guacamole Chipotle On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, via Doordash app, the complaint states. It says the food was prepared and packed at the store, then “delivered to the plaintiff for consumption.”
The complaint further states that when Bernhardt put her hand into the burrito bowl, she “was bitten by a mouse that was in the food she was eating, causing serious physical injuries.”
,[T]The rodent was in the plaintiff’s mouth after biting into the food, according to ComplaintWhich was filed in the New York County Supreme Court on Monday.
Bernhardt’s complaint further says, “Chipotle knew or should have known that its product was dangerous to members of the general public.”
“Despite this knowledge, Defendant, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., failed at any time to warn Plaintiff of the substantial risk of injury or death from consuming the ‘Burrito Bowl,'” the complaint states.
Does not specify what Bernhardt is physical injuries Involved, and what type rodent He searched. According to the complaint, the rodent’s presence created an “unduly dangerous situation” for Bernhardt.
Charles Gucciardo, a lawyer representing Bernhardt, said Independent A statement said his client “took a bite of the food and immediately realized something was wrong.”
“Ms. Bernhardt’s inspection immediately revealed that she had indeed bitten a partially cooked rodent located within the food,” said Gucciardo.
According to Gucciardo, Bernhardt began vomiting, then calmed herself down enough that she personally went to the Chipotle restaurant, where she was reportedly informed that what she got was chicken.
,[T]Her ears, nose and tail demonstrated otherwise,” he said. “…This incident has left him scarred.”
,Independent Received a photo of the alleged rodent, placed on a Chipotle napkin next to Bernhardt’s burrito bowl and photographed next to a fork for the scale, but is not being published due to reader sensitivity.)
ChipotleFor its part, it was reported Independent It plans to push back strongly against the lawsuit.
“We strongly deny the allegations made in this complaint, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims,” Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer Laurie Shallow said in an emailed statement. “The health and safety of our employees and guests is our top priority, and industry-leading food safety practices are in place across our restaurants.”
DoordashThe suit, which did not respond to a request for comment, is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, along with a “John Doe” who “delivered ‘Burrito Bowls and Chips and Guacamole’ on behalf of Defendants Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. and DoorDash, Inc.” Bernhardt’s complaint states that she was “consuming the product in accordance with its intended use,” but Doe “improperly and negligently distributed the product in an unsafe and unsanitary manner.”
In 2020, a Chipotle in upper Manhattan made headlines when four employees claimed they were bitten by “massive” rats that were eating the store’s avocados and chewing through wiring, shutting down its computerized ordering system. workers told New York Post That they had killed “dozens of rodents by crushing them, hitting them with broom handles, dropping boxes on them, and various other medieval methods of destruction.”
Dinner at Dallas Chipotle, in 2017 scene captured on video Of rats crawling on the floorOne of which climbed up one of the walls of the restaurant. One customer told the local NBC affiliate that three rats fell from the ceiling and nearly landed on his lunch. The location was temporarily closed so it could be “thoroughly investigated,” according to Chipotle, which said the problem was “limited to”some rats,
Last year, a Chipotle in New Haven, Connecticut voluntary closure For a period due to a “rodent control” issue, for which the company blamed the landlord of the location.
Bernhardt said in his complaint that it was allegedly caused by a spoiled burrito bowl. [her] have raised, and will continue to raise, expenses for medical care and nursing care,” and that, “as a further consequence, [she] was, is and will be unable to perform [her] General Activities and Duties.”
The complaint argues that Chipotle has a duty of care to provide its restaurant customers with food that is safe and sanitary for human consumption, and that “Defendants’ conduct in serving Plaintiff… the rat-tainted food endangered Plaintiff’s physical safety and/or caused Plaintiff to fear for her own physical safety.”
the fact that Chipotle According to the complaint, Bernhardt was served “food containing rodents” that was “excessive and offensive.”
Bernhardt is seeking a money judgment from Chipotle and DoorDash, including compensatory and punitive damages, to be determined in court. His attorney, Steven Vaccaro, did not respond to requests for comment.