Florida Woman Unable To Have Children After Eating Ice Cream Awarded $14m Payout

A Florida woman who can no longer have children after eating contaminated ice cream has been awarded a $14 million payout following a court ruling in Brevard County.

Back in 2019, Brandy Buckley filed a lawsuit claiming that the dessert she bought from Bruster’s Ice Cream in Palm Bay, Florida, in September 2018 contained 'foreign and unnatural objects' like nails and small metal pieces.

On that day, Buckley had stopped at the drive-thru and ordered butter pecan ice cream as a simple treat. It seemed like a normal purchase at the time, but things quickly took a serious turn after she took her first bite.

As she started scooping some of the ice cream out to share with her son, Buckley noticed something felt off and unusual.

"I noticed there was a metal nail in the cone, almost embedded," she explained to WESH-TV. "When I did swallow, I did feel something in my throat that kind of got stuck."

"I thought it was a pecan because it was a butter pecan ice cream that I had purchased."

The woman from Florida was met with an unwelcome surprise WESH-TV

She was taken to the hospital where doctors carried out an X-ray, which revealed that she had swallowed a sharp metal object.

"It was a nail. I had swallowed a nail," she said, describing the moment she realized what had happened.

Although she had only eaten a small portion, doctors later found that two metal shards had entered her body. These pieces became lodged in her intestines, which led to her needing surgery to remove them.

One of the most serious complications came from a blood clot that developed afterward, which Buckley says changed her life in a lasting way.

"That was my goal and my dream, to have more kids. It was crazy because who expects to get ice cream and find a nail in there?" she shared.

Her legal team also argued that the incident caused permanent infertility, meaning she could no longer have more children, something that had been an important goal for her.

The mom underwent an X-ray which found a nail in her body WESH-TV

In her lawsuit against Malabar Creameries, Buckley also claimed she suffered multiple injuries affecting her head, neck, limbs, and nervous system.

Brandy Buckley filed a lawsuit in 2019 WESH-TV

She stated that she has experienced a lasting loss of certain body functions and continues to deal with ongoing neurological damage, according to reports from the New York Post.

The lawsuit accused the company of negligence. However, Malabar Creameries denied these claims in a 2020 response and fought the case while Buckley sought damages of more than $15 million.

After reviewing the evidence, a jury ultimately awarded Buckley $14 million, which included compensation for years of medical treatment and related costs.

"We are grateful that this jury of six fulfilled their civic duty and listened carefully to all of the evidence," her attorney, John Alpizar, said following the decision that was reached last week.

"This verdict reflects the seriousness of the harm our client endured and ensures accountability at all levels."