THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 2, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
28 Nov 2023


NextImg:NY woman sues Chopt restaurants after finding severed finger in salad

An upstate New York woman claims she chomped down on a severed finger that was mixed in with her Chopt salad — and that it belonged to an eatery manager who accidentally lopped it off her hand while dicing arugula, according to a new lawsuit.

Allison Cozzi sat down to enjoy a healthy meal at the Chopt Creative Salad Co. location in Mount Kisco on April 7 when she made the grisly discovery, according to her 12-page suit filed in Westchester County on Monday.

“Shortly after [the] plaintiff purchased the salad, while she was eating the salad, she realized that she was chewing on a portion of a human finger that had been mixed in, and made a part of, the salad,” the lawsuit states .

It was discovered “that earlier in the day an employee working at the aforementioned Chopt Creative Salad Company restaurant was chopping arugula and chopped off, or cut off, a portion of her left pointer finger,” the suit alleges.

The unnamed employee, a manager at the eatery, was rushed to a local hospital but left the severed finger behind — with the partial digit ultimately finding its way into Cozzi’s salad and eventually her mouth, according to the suit.

Allison Cozzi says she found a severed finger in her salad at the Chopt Creative Salad Co. outlet in Mount Kisco in April. Mark Vergari/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK

The restaurant was later cited for a violation by the Westchester County Department of Health — but that did little to soothe Cozzi, who was left traumatized and sickened by the stomach-turning episode, the suit said.

Cozzi, of Greenwich, Connecticut, suffered “severe and serious personal injuries, including shock, panic attacks, migraine and the exacerbation of migraine, cognitive impairment, traumatic stress and anxiety, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and neck and shoulder pain,” the complaint claims.

The suit accuses the salad restaurant chain outpost and its parent company, Founders Table Restaurant Group, of negligence and “statutory violations,” and seeks an undisclosed amount in damages.

Cozzi’s lawyer, Marc Reibman, declined to discuss the case with The Post on Tuesday.

Chopt Creative Salad Company.
An employee at Chopt Creative Salad Co. in Mount Kisco chopped off her finger while cutting up arugula, with the partial digit later served to customer Allison Cozzi, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Westchester County Supreme Court. Anne Wermiel/NY Post

“My client has instructed me that she does not want any publicity,” Reibman said. “She is fearful that publicity will exacerbate her stress and anxiety levels.”

Officials at Founders Table Restaurant Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.