A resident of Michigan, USA, claimed that he had a grossly unpleasant dining experience and it may leave a bad aftertaste for you too. Thomas Howie had gone out with friends in March to the popular restaurant chain Olive Garden in the Warren district, in Detroit. Howie (54) ordered the Italian special Minestrone soup and started to eat it when he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his throat. According to a report by NBC, he discovered that there was a rodent foot inside his mouth and he spat it out immediately. He was then rushed to the hospital and given antibiotics, injections and a mouthwash.
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Howie then reported the incident to the police, as per the New York Post. He claims that the manager at the restaurant did not heed the complaints and took the incident of finding the rat's foot quite lightly. An employee of Olive Garden allegedly told the man, "That's funny. We don't even put meat in minestrone." Meanwhile, as per Howie, even the police were gagging when he filed the complaint as stated in the New York Post.
Thus, Thomas Howie decided to file a lawsuit against Olive Garden on Friday. The lawsuit states that seeing the rat's foot in his soup made the man extremely nauseous and the after-effects of the incident lasted several days. As per NBC and the filed lawsuit, Thomas Howie still has an aversion to eating meat and struggles to dine at a restaurant where he cannot see the food being prepared. Howie's legal team is seeking compensation for the physical and mental distress of around $25,000 (Rs 20.67 lakhs approx). The lawsuit also provided a photograph of the alleged rat's foot that the man found in his minestrone soup. Take a look:
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Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Olive Garden said that they had 'no reason to believe there is any validity to this claim'. "Managers have no idea how this could have gotten into the food. They have a process that is followed closely for each batch of soup that is made," stated a report by Macomb County Health Department inspectors. They also said that they discarded the batch of soup after Howie's complaint.