PITTSBURGH – A local woman says she unknowingly ingested glass shards when eating a frozen enchilada she purchased from her local Trader Joe’s grocery store, and has filed suit against the store and the manufacturer of the enchilada.
Jessie Tait of Pittsburgh filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on July 25 versus Trader Joe’s Company of Monrovia, Calif. and La Flor de Mexico, Inc. of Baldwin Park, Calif.
“Two or three days prior to Sept. 13, 2022, Ms. Tait had purchased a frozen cheese enchilada from Trader Joe's in McCandless, Pennsylvania. The package indicated that it was sold and distributed ‘exclusively for Trader Joe’s.’ On Sept. 13, 2022, at approximately 6:50 p.m., Ms. Tait was preparing for an evening of work, which normally starts with dinner. She pulled the cheese enchilada from the freezer, followed the instructions on the package and sat down to eat. Roughly 10 minutes after beginning preparation of the frozen dinner, she took her first bite of food and began chewing and swallowed,” the suit states.
“She took a second bite and felt pain on her tongue and roof of her mouth, and heard and felt crunching in her teeth. She instinctively swallowed, but then felt pain in her throat. It was then that she realized she had ingested pieces of glass shards from within the enchilada. Ms. Tait pressed her fork to the bottom of the food pan and felt a high pitch crunching, leading her to the conclusion that additional glass was still in the enchilada tray. She then spit out any food that remained in her mouth, and rinsed her mouth of the ground glass remnants.”
The suit adds that Tait, “concerned that this could be a larger problem than just the one package, called Trader Joe's customer service line to alert them of the issue, gave them the lot number to trace, and also let them know she would be seeking medical treatment because of the glass in her frozen enchilada.”
“Ms. Tait notes that the phone call was placed at 7:11 p.m. and lasted three minutes. Following the phone call with Trader Joe's, she took the rest of the enchilada and put it back in its original wrapping, and then placed it in a resealable freezer bag to preserve the product. Ms. Tait continued to experience pain and burning in her mouth, throat and tonsils and it was worsening to the point where she sought medical attention. Ms. Tait got in her car and drove to the Emergency Department at UPMC Passavant, arriving at around 7:30 p.m. While in the ER, she started having sharp pains in her upper GI, so CT scan was performed. She remained in the ER with increasing pain until after midnight, missing her entire night of work and income,” the suit says.
“Ms. Tait was eventually discharged and sent home on a soft food diet with instructions to watch for signs of internal bleeding and to follow-up with her family doctor. The billed charges for the ER visit totaled $9,687.25. The following day, Ms. Tait could feel sores on the roof of her mouth, gums and tongue, which persisted for the next few days. Ms. Tait also missed another night of scheduled night of work on Sept. 14, 2022. Ms. Tait continued to experience sharp and stabbing pain and swelling in her abdomen, with noticeable gastric swelling from the glass irritation. Ms. Tait noticed her abdomen to be distended and hard for about 10 days after the incident, with accompanying nausea and pain after ingesting the glass in the frozen enchilada.”
About a week after the Emergency Room visit, Tait says she went to see her Primary Care Physician, Lauren Alderwald, MD for follow-up.
“Ms. Tait informed Dr. Alderwald of the occurrence and her recent symptoms associated with ingesting the glass, and Ms. Tait was cautioned to watch for signs of internal bleeding, either vomiting or in her stool. As a direct result of the defendants’ negligence and carelessness, plaintiff suffered severe bodily injuries as described hereinabove,” the suit says.
“As a direct result of the defendants’ negligence and carelessness, plaintiff has suffered the following damages: Great pain, suffering and inconvenience, loss of the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life, emotional distress, embarrassment and anxiety, scarring and/or disfigurement, lost income and medical and out-of-pocket expenses. Some or all of Ms. Tait’s injuries and damages are permanent in nature.”
For two counts of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking a trial by jury and damages in excess of $50,000, exclusive of interest and costs of suit.
The plaintiff is represented by David J. Miller of the Law Offices of David J. Miller, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants have not yet retained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-23-008972
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com