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A Florida woman was awarded a staggering $14 million judgment after she unknowingly swallowed metal nails and shards hidden inside a serving of ice cream — injuries she says left her unable to have children.
On Sept. 11, 2018, Brandy Buckley pulled up to the drive-through window of a Bruster’s Ice Cream shop in Palm Bay and ordered what should have been a routine dessert — a butter pecan ice cream.
Instead, the ice cream was laced with “multiple metal nails and/or metal shards,” according to a bombshell lawsuit that was originally filed in Brevard County state court in 2019.
Buckley said she took a bite of the ice cream when her son also asked to get a taste.
“I got to the light to scoop some of the ice cream out,” she told WESH-TV.
“I noticed there was a metal nail in like, in the cone, almost embedded, it looked like in the cone.”
Buckley said she felt something strange when she took her first bite.
“When I did swallow, I did feel something in my throat that kind of got stuck,” she said.
“I thought it was a pecan because it was a butter pecan ice cream that I had purchased.”
Buckley said she went to the hospital to get an X-ray.
“Just to be clear, to make sure that’s what it was, a pecan, and it wasn’t,” Buckley said. “It was a nail. So I had swallowed a nail.”
The sharp objects were embedded inside the frozen dessert and not visible to the naked eye, leaving Buckley with no warning before taking a bite.
Buckley suffered severe and permanent injuries to her head, neck, limbs and nervous system, along with significant scarring and disfigurement.
She also sustained a permanent loss of bodily functions and ongoing neurological damage, according to the filing.
Buckley and her husband, Patrick, say the injuries robbed them of their ability to grow their family. He alleges the incident deprived them “from having additional children,” according to the complaint.
She has racked up massive medical bills for hospitalizations, doctors and ongoing care, while also losing income and future earning potential, the lawsuit claims.
The suit targets multiple Bruster’s corporate entities, accusing them of failing to ensure their products were safe for human consumption.
According to the complaint, Bruster’s stores use “Certified Ice Cream Makers” to mix and freeze proprietary dairy blends on-site daily — a process the plaintiffs argue broke down catastrophically, allowing a dangerously contaminated product to reach a customer.
They initially sought damages exceeding $15,000 — the minimum threshold for filing in the circuit — but a jury ultimately handed down a $14 million judgment in light of the severity and permanence of Buckley’s injuries.
An attorney unaffiliated with the case said the $14 million judgment was justified given the severity of the injuries.
“I think it could have been more — reproductive cases carry big price tags,” attorney Danny Karon told The Post.
“Think about the possibility of never being able to have a family. That’s what she’s is faced with because of the company’s negligence.”
The Post has sought comment from attorneys for Buckley and from Bruster’s.
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