'Applebee's Served Bloody Fingertip in my Salad', Pregnant Woman Claims

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Bloody hell indeed! An Applebee's pregnant client with the name of Cathleen Martin was dining with her husband and child last month when she found a bloody fingertip in her Chinese chicken salad, which she shared with her family, FOX News reports. According to San Luis Obispo, the Martin family visited the Applebee's restaurant located at the 2300 block of Theater Drive on December 20 and found a slice of fingertip in their salad, which they were already eating.

TIME reports that Martin released a statement via her attorney, Eric Traut, saying, "It was so gross. I’m on pins and needles worrying about what my family might have been exposed to."

The Martins reported the incident to the restaurant manager, who confirmed that the severed body part belonged to one of their employees. The family also received a letter from Applebee's counsel saying that by law, they could not require the cook to undergo any medical tests.

Applebee's Grill and Bar media spokesman Tom Linafelt released a statement from franchise area director Alan Knapp saying that the business regrets the "unacceptable" incident that the Martin family experienced.

The statement read, "We take matters involving the health and safety of our guests and team members seriously. Accordingly, we immediately investigated and determined that an accident did occur in our kitchen. We discussed the matter with the Martins while still at our restaurant, shared our sincere apologies, and have continued to speak with Mrs. Martin in an effort to address her concerns."

"Additionally, the team member involved volunteered to undergo screening in an effort to provide the peace of mind Mrs. Martin seeks," Knapp added. "Further, we are retraining our team members on our safety protocols and will take any necessary actions to prevent anything like this from occurring again."

According to CBS Local, Martin and her family filed the claim seeking unspecified damages, medical expenses, and lost income.

The Applebee's chain began in 1980 in Decatur, Georgia. According to Consumerist, IHOP Corp. purchased Applebee's International for $2.2 billion in 2007. IHOP Corp. later changed their name to DineEquity. Applebee's headquarters are located in Kansas City, Missouri, and has now grown to become a global brand, operating in 10 countries in the Americas, Greece and Netherlands, Egypt, and eight countries in Asia.

According to Applebee's official website, the company is committed to "serving good food to good people". The neighborhood restaurant has also grown to 2,000 locations and counting.