{"id":551564,"date":"2026-03-29T02:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/551564\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T02:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:45:07","slug":"woman-wins-14m-judgment-after-eating-ice-cream-with-metal-nails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/551564\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman wins $14M judgment after eating ice cream with metal nails"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Florida woman was awarded a staggering $14 million judgment<\/a> after she unknowingly swallowed metal nails and shards hidden inside a serving of ice cream \u2014 injuries she says left her unable to have children.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 11, 2018, Brandy Buckley pulled up to the drive-through window of a Bruster\u2019s Ice Cream shop in Palm Bay and ordered what should have been a routine dessert \u2014 a butter pecan ice cream.<\/p>\n

Instead, the ice cream was laced with \u201cmultiple metal nails and\/or metal shards,\u201d according to a bombshell lawsuit that was originally filed in Brevard County state court in 2019.<\/p>\n

Brandy Buckley, who won a $14 million judgment after swallowing metal nails and shards hidden in ice cream. eastidahonews.com<\/p>\n

Buckley said she took a bite of the ice cream when her son also asked to get a taste.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to the light to scoop some of the ice cream out,\u201d she told WESH-TV. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed there was a metal nail in like, in the cone, almost embedded, it looked like in the cone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buckley said she felt something strange when she took her first bite.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I did swallow, I did feel something in my throat that kind of got stuck,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

X-ray shows a metal nail lodged inside Brandy Buckley after she swallowed contaminated ice cream. eastidahonews.com<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a pecan because it was a butter pecan ice cream that I had purchased.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buckley said she went to the hospital to get an X-ray.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to be clear, to make sure that\u2019s what it was, a pecan, and it wasn\u2019t,\u201d Buckley said. \u201cIt was a nail. So I had swallowed a nail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sharp objects were embedded inside the frozen dessert and not visible to the naked eye, leaving Buckley with no warning before taking a bite.<\/p>\n

Buckley suffered severe and permanent injuries to her head, neck, limbs and nervous system, along with significant scarring and disfigurement. <\/p>\n

Metal nails and shards allegedly found inside the ice cream Buckley consumed. eastidahonews.com<\/p>\n

She also sustained a permanent loss of bodily functions and ongoing neurological damage, according to the filing.<\/p>\n

Buckley and her husband, Patrick, say the injuries robbed them of their ability to grow their family. He alleges the incident deprived them \u201cfrom having additional children,\u201d according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

She has racked up massive medical bills for hospitalizations, doctors and ongoing care, while also losing income and future earning potential, the lawsuit claims.<\/p>\n

The suit targets multiple Bruster\u2019s corporate entities, accusing them of failing to ensure their products were safe for human consumption.<\/p>\n

The Bruster\u2019s Ice Cream location in Palm Bay, Fla., where the incident occurred. eastidahonews.com<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Bruster\u2019s stores use \u201cCertified Ice Cream Makers\u201d to mix and freeze proprietary dairy blends on-site daily \u2014 a process the plaintiffs argue broke down catastrophically, allowing a dangerously contaminated product to reach a customer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

They initially sought damages exceeding $15,000 \u2014 the minimum threshold for filing in the circuit \u2014 but a jury ultimately handed down a $14 million judgment in light of the severity and permanence of Buckley\u2019s injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe jury heard the evidence and rendered a verdict that was fair in light of the serious damages that were caused to my client by the incident,\u201d Buckley\u2019s attorney, Scott Alpizar, told The Post.<\/p>\n

An attorney unaffiliated with the case said the $14 million judgment was justified given the severity of the injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it could have been more \u2014 reproductive cases carry big price tags,\u201d attorney Danny Karon told The Post. <\/p>\n

\u201cThink about the possibility of never being able to have a family. That\u2019s what she\u2019s is faced with because of the company\u2019s negligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from Bruster\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Florida woman was awarded a staggering $14 million judgment after she unknowingly swallowed metal nails and shards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,19376,2932,3130,194],"class_list":{"0":"post-551564","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ice-cream","10":"tag-lawsuit","11":"tag-lawsuits","12":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}