OFF BEAT: Woman claims cockroach in food still haunts her 3 years later
Reprints
A cockroach allegedly cooked into a restaurant burger three years ago is the subject of a lawsuit recently filed by a woman claiming she is still traumatized by having bitten into the insect.
The woman reportedly claims she is entitled to $25,000, including compensatory damages, after suffering intense discomfort and emotional trauma since she ordered the burger at The Beacon Drive-in on Feb. 18, 2010.
The Beacon is a landmark in Spartanburg, S.C., famous for meals like its Chilly Cheese A-Plenty, a chili cheeseburger buried under onion rings and French fries.
A news report says the suit claims that after finding the cockroach, the plaintiff showed its remains to the restaurant's owner, who allegedly mocked her.
The restaurant owner said about three years ago someone left his establishment with a burger and then returned with an insect in a bottle, claiming to have found it in the fully consumed sandwich. But the owner notified his insurer about the claim and the insurer never received claim documentation that it requested from the plaintiff.
The owner also told television news station WYFF that a year and a half after the alleged incident, a man claiming to be a pastor called and asked if the restaurant would like to prevent the incident from gaining public attention. But the owner declined the offer.
