A New York City woman is suing Chipotle, DoorDash and the worker who delivered her food, alleging she “bit into a rodent” contained within the chicken burrito bowl she ordered.
According to a civil complaint filed Monday in New York County Supreme Court, Gia Bernhardt, 24, placed an order on Jan. 11 from the Third Ave. Chipotle on the Upper East Side, between East 84th and 85th streets.
Upon her order being delivered by the “dasher,” she dug into her food, only to “bite into a rodent … and thereby suffer and sustain severe bodily injuries,” per the complaint, first reported on Tuesday by The Independent.
The suit does not specify Bernhardt’s alleged injuries, but says the ordeal caused “pain, shock and severe mental anguish.” It claims “these injuries and their effects will be permanent,” have required expenses for medical treatment and have rendered her “unable to perform [her] normal activities and duties.”
Bernhardt’s lawyer, Steven Vaccaro, told PIX11 News that his client “immediately became sick” and vomited after she “actually bit off a piece of the rodent.”
He claims she returned to the restaurant with the food and spoke to the employees that were present, who proceeded to try to “convince her” that the mystery object with “ears, nose and tail” was chicken.
They then threw away the alleged rodent, Vaccaro said, while his client went to the hospital for testing and treatment.
Bernhardt is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Chipotle, DoorDash and the “dasher” identified only as “John Doe.” She alleges their negligence subjected her to “unreasonably dangerous condition[s],” and that she has sustained losses as a result of the incident.
“We strongly deny the allegations in this complaint, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims,” Chipotle’s Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer Laurie Schalow said in a statement. “The health and safety of our employees and guests is our highest priority, and we have industry-leading food safety practices in place across our restaurants.”
In 2020, four workers at a Washington Heights location of the fast casual chain claimed they needed to kill dozens of rats that were eating the avocados at the restaurant.
Last year, a Chipotle in New Haven, Conn. voluntarily shut down for a period due to a “rodent control” issue. The company blamed the situation on the location’s landlord.
