Woman Claims Sundae Tainted With Blood
GEORGETOWN, DEL-- A woman filed a lawsuit claiming that a hot fudge sundae she bought for her 12-year-old son was contaminated with human blood, but the owner of a fast-food franchise says the red substance was really just strawberry syrup.
A Superior Court judge was scheduled to hear arguments Friday in a lawsuit filed by Carmen Jara against AJM Enterprises, which operates a McDonald's restaurant in Georgetown.
According to court documents, Jara bought food, including four hot fudge sundaes, at the restaurant's drive-thru window on Dec. 30, 2004.
Her son, now 13, dug into his sundae and "recognized the taste of blood and, upon careful inspection, noted a red substance on the side of the sundae cup as well as mixed into his ice cream," the lawsuit claims.
Jara then went into the store and spoke to a swing manager, who confirmed that it was blood, according to the lawsuit.
The manager, Joshua Ferrell, said the employee who prepared the sundae had an injured, bleeding finger, and told Jara that he had advised the employee to keep a bandage on his finger, according to the lawsuit.
Jara, who filed a report with Georgetown police, requested that the employee, who no longer works at the restaurant, undergo a blood test to rule out any diseases, but that her request was refused.
Michael Meoli, owner of the McDonald's franchise, said the claims are unfounded, and that strawberry syrup probably had clogged the sundae machine.
Ferrell, who no longer works at the restaurant, should not have said the substance was blood, Meoli said.
"What is he, a botanist? No, he's a 21-year-old assistant manager who saw her screaming in the lobby and said 'whatever you say lady.'"
Meoli, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat last year, said the allegations are meant to ruin his business.
"I hope she gets the same thing the Wendy's lady got," he said, referring to a woman recently sentenced to nine years in prison for planting a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili to extort money from the fast-food chain.
A Superior Court judge was scheduled to hear arguments Friday in a lawsuit filed by Carmen Jara against AJM Enterprises, which operates a McDonald's restaurant in Georgetown.
According to court documents, Jara bought food, including four hot fudge sundaes, at the restaurant's drive-thru window on Dec. 30, 2004.
Her son, now 13, dug into his sundae and "recognized the taste of blood and, upon careful inspection, noted a red substance on the side of the sundae cup as well as mixed into his ice cream," the lawsuit claims.
Jara then went into the store and spoke to a swing manager, who confirmed that it was blood, according to the lawsuit.
The manager, Joshua Ferrell, said the employee who prepared the sundae had an injured, bleeding finger, and told Jara that he had advised the employee to keep a bandage on his finger, according to the lawsuit.
Jara, who filed a report with Georgetown police, requested that the employee, who no longer works at the restaurant, undergo a blood test to rule out any diseases, but that her request was refused.
Michael Meoli, owner of the McDonald's franchise, said the claims are unfounded, and that strawberry syrup probably had clogged the sundae machine.
Ferrell, who no longer works at the restaurant, should not have said the substance was blood, Meoli said.
"What is he, a botanist? No, he's a 21-year-old assistant manager who saw her screaming in the lobby and said 'whatever you say lady.'"
Meoli, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat last year, said the allegations are meant to ruin his business.
"I hope she gets the same thing the Wendy's lady got," he said, referring to a woman recently sentenced to nine years in prison for planting a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili to extort money from the fast-food chain.
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