NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
A New York woman claims she found a human fingertip<\/a> in food she purchased from a local restaurant.\n<\/p>\n Mary Elizabeth Smith, 43, of Manhattan alleges that the incident occurred on Nov. 17, 2023, after she ordered a chicken wrap “to go” at Create Astoria, a Mediterranean restaurant in Queens, according to a legal complaint obtained by PEOPLE that was filed in the New York County Supreme Court on Aug. 7.\u00a0The restaurant calls her claim \u201cimpossible\u201d and \u201cludicrous.\u201d\n<\/p>\n In the complaint, Smith\u2019s attorney, Robert Menna, states that Smith took a bite of a chicken wrap and discovered \u201chuman tissue, a fingertip\u201d inside it.\n<\/p>\n The complaint further states that \u201cnegligence\u201d on the part of the restaurant caused Smith to \u201csustain serious injuries and suffer pain, shock and mental anguish.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cShe ordered a chicken wrap, and when she bit into it, there was a piece of a finger there. Luckily, she didn’t swallow it. But it still traumatized her,\u201d Menna said in a statement to PEOPLE.\n<\/p>\n Menna said his office sent the fingertip to a lab for testing and it was confirmed to be tissue<\/a> from a human female.\n<\/p>\n Fingertip allegedly found by Mary Elizabeth Smith.<\/p>\n Greenberg Law P.C.<\/p>\n He added that the restaurant, however, claims it had no female employees working there that day. Additionally, he says that Create\u2019s insurance company, Liberty Mutual, has denied Smith\u2019s allegations. (PEOPLE reached out to Liberty Mutual for comment on Saturday, Aug. 23, but did not receive an immediate response.)\n<\/p>\n \u201cSo we will let the court take care of it,\u201d Menna said.\n<\/p>\n Create\u2019s owner, Teddy Karagiannis, called the lawsuit \u201ccompletely fraudulent\u201d in a statement to PEOPLE. He added that he plans to countersue Smith “for slander.”\n<\/p>\n It’s just ludicrous,\u201d he said, adding that food served at his restaurant goes through multiple inspection points before being served.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s impossible. It cannot happen in my style of operation,\u201d Karagiannis added.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Karagiannis alleged to PEOPLE that Smith has declined to do DNA testing<\/a> on the fingertip, which he believes would prove it did not come from one of his employees. He also speculated that Smith could have obtained the fingertip elsewhere.\n<\/p>\n