A mum has been awarded a whopping $14 million after eating an ice cream cost her the chance to have more children.
Brandy Buckley claimed that she unknowingly swallowed a nail and shards of metal while eating the frozen treat that she purchased a few years back.
She has now told how her ‘dream’ to expand her family was taken away from her after the incident left her with life-long injuries.
A jury recently ruled that Buckley should be given a multi-million dollar payout after finding that both the ice cream shop and its owner, Malabar Creameries, were liable.
The 43-year-old explained that she visited Bruster’s Ice Cream in Palm Bay, Florida, to pick up a dessert back in September 2018.
A jury awarded Brandy Buckley $14 million after the incident left her unable to have more children (WESH-TV)
She ordered a butter pecan ice cream at the drive-thru window and took a large bite, before she then began to ‘scoop some out’ for her son.
“I noticed there was a metal nail in the cone, almost embedded,” Buckley told WESH-TV. “When I did swallow, I did feel something in my throat that kind of got stuck.
“I thought it was a pecan because it was a butter pecan ice cream that I had purchased. It was a nail. I had swallowed a nail.”
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The mum decided to visit the hospital to undergo an X-ray in an attempt to confirm her suspicions, which showed that she had in fact swallowed the sharp metal object.
As well as this, Buckley said she had also gulped down ‘two metal shards’ that were also hidden in the ice cream.
She explained that these became ’embedded in her intestines’, forcing her to have surgery to remedy this issue.
The mum then experienced complications after developing a blood clot, which left her unable to have more children.
An X-ray confirmed her fears (WESH-TV)
Buckley said: “That was my goal and my dream, to have more kids. It was crazy because who expects to get ice cream and find a nail in there?”
According to a lawsuit which she filed against Malabar Creameries in 2019, accusing them of failing to ensure their products were safe for human consumption, the ice cream had ‘multiple metal nails and/or shards’ in it.
Buckley said she suffered various injuries to her head, neck, limbs and nervous system as a result, as well as permanent loss of bodily functions and ongoing neurological damage, the New York Post reported.
Eating the contaminated ice cream ‘ultimately resulted in permanent infertility’, her lawyers said, preventing her ‘from having additional children’.
The mum said she also swallowed ‘metal shards’ while eating the ice cream (WESH-TV)
A jury in Brevard County awarded her $14 million due to the severity of her injuries, as well as to compensate her for her hefty medical bills.
Buckley’s lawyer John Alpizar said of the verdict: “We are grateful that this jury of six fulfilled their civic duty and listened carefully to all of the evidence.
“This verdict reflects the seriousness of the harm our client endured and ensures accountability at all levels.”
LADbible has contacted Bruster’s Ice Cream for comment.
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