Applebee’s Apologizes in Finger Case

The lawyer for a Louisiana woman who said she found a severed fingertip in her salad said Monday that an apology from restaurant chain Applebee’s International Inc. didn’t “totally compensate” his client.

Restaurant chain Applebee’s said a worker accidentally cut the “very tip of his thumb” last year, an incident it said might have triggered a lawsuit from a Louisiana woman who said she found a severed fingertip in her salad. Applebee’s described the event as an “isolated incident” in a statement released Saturday.

The company apologized to May Deal Chambers Johnson, who filed the lawsuit last week.

Johnson’s lawyer, Michael Darnell of New Orleans, told Reuters on Monday: “We appreciate the fact that Applebee’s has made an apology, but that doesn’t totally compensate my client for the revolting experience she had and the trauma she has sustained because of the incident.”

Darnell also said Applebee’s statement “seems to make a case for a lax supervision by the franchiser of this particular franchisee.”

Although Applebee’s said some facts were still unclear, it said it believed that a former employee at a franchise restaurant in Jefferson, La., had cut off part of his thumb. According to the worker, the cut was roughly the size of a sunflower seed, Applebee’s said.

The company, based in Overland Park, Kan., said it immediately launched an investigation after it learned about the lawsuit June 27.

A woman drew national attention in March when she said she found a finger in a bowl of chili from a Wendy’s International Inc. restaurant in San Jose. The case was later found to be a hoax and she was jailed on grand theft charges. Wendy’s suffered a steep drop in sales.