Chick-Fil-A milkshake blamed for woman's heart attack

A former Texas resident claims in court that a cherry atop a Chick Fil-A milkshake like one of these caused her tooth and gum damage, ultimately leading to a heart attack. (File art) A former Texas resident claims in court that a cherry atop a Chick Fil-A milkshake like one of these caused her tooth and gum damage, ultimately leading to a heart attack. (File art) Photo: Screenshot From Twitter Photo: Screenshot From Twitter Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Chick-Fil-A milkshake blamed for woman's heart attack 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A former Texas woman is suing the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain and its cherry supplier over a cherry pit she claims gave her tooth damage that led to a heart attack.

Cyndi Scruggs, who lived in the Dallas suburb of Plano at the time of the incident, said she bought a milkshake May 10 at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in nearby McKinney, according to the suit she filed Dec. 1 in Dallas County's 44th State District Court.

The shake was topped by whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, which she popped into her mouth. When she bit into the cherry, Scruggs said she discovered it had not been "properly de-pitted," the petition states.

The plaintiff, who now lives in Parker, Colo., said she fractured two teeth below the gum line and, an unspecified short time later, developed gum infection and sepsis. Scruggs later suffered a heart attack, according to the plaintiff's petition. Recently, documents state, she had the two broken teeth removed.

At the time of the incident, the restaurant received cherries from Dell's Maraschino Cherries Co. Inc. in New York, which is named as a defendant.

"Defendant Dell's Maraschino Cherries, as a producer, supplier and distributor of maraschino cherries to restaurants or food establishments throughout the United States, including Texas, failed to use that degree of care that would be used by a marschino cherry de-pitting owner or company of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances," the petition states.

The plaintiff, represented by Dallas attorney Steven S. Schulte of the Turley Law Center, is seeking damages between $200,000 and $1 million.