Applebee's Customer Allegedly Finds Fingertip in Chicken Salad

Every diner's worst nightmare.

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A pregnant woman in Atascadero, Calif. has filed a lawsuit against an Applebee’s in Paso Robles after allegedly finding a bloody fingertip in her salad.

Cathleen Martin visited the Applebee’s location on Dec. 20 with her husband and their child, according to a statement from her attorney, Eric Traut. Martin ordered the Chinese chicken salad and shared some of the dish with her family. She claims that she found the fingertip after they’d all eaten a bite of the salad.

“It was so gross,” Martin said in a statement to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. “I’m on pins and needles worrying about what my family might have been exposed to.”

Alan Knapp, the director of Applebee’s in Calif., admitted that the fingertip belongs to a team member at the restaurant.

“We take matters involving the health and safety of our guests and team members seriously,” Knapp’s statement to San Luis Obispo Tribunesaid. “Accordingly, we immediately investigated and determined that an accident did occur in our kitchen.”

The Martin family requested testing of the employee's blood and urine to identify potential diseases, according to the Paso Robles Daily News. Applebee’s can’t force the restaurant employee to undergo testing for diseases. However, Knapp claims that the worker has voluntarily agreed to cooperate.

“Additionally, the team member involved volunteered to undergo screening in an effort to provide the peace of mind Mrs. Martin seeks,” Knapp explained in a statement. “Further, we are retraining our team members on our safety protocols and will take any necessary actions to prevent anything like this from occurring again.”

The Martin family isn’t seeking monetary compensation, according to their attorney. “It’s about peace of mind right now,” Traut told the Paso Robles Daily News.

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