HOMESTEAD — Bessiejay Taylor told Channel 11 News that on Aug. 31 she and her daughter had ordered a 12—piece chicken nugget, opened the box of food in the car, and passed it back for her grandson to eat. But Taylor says in just minutes the child was choking. She says she was shocked by what they found inside.
“We heard him going cough-cough,” said Taylor.
Taylor said the incident began like any other lunchtime run to Chick-fil-A, but within minutes of receiving their food, her four-year-old grandson, who has autism, was coughing uncontrollably.
“She pulled over and got him out of the car seat, and my daughter is patting him on the back, it came out of his mouth, and it was plastic,” said Taylor.
The boy doesn’t talk.
But stuck inside his throat was a long piece of plastic that appeared to have been dipped in batter and fried.
“As we turned it was like you could see his eyes were wide open, and it was just shocking,” relived Taylor.
Once the plastic was out of his mouth the family rushed the boy to a nearby med express to see if he was ok.
“Thank goodness his esophagus is fine, but he now has problems eating certain foods,” Taylor said.
That same day the toddler’s father contacted the company, but nearly a month has passed, and Taylor said none of their calls were returned until today.
“When something like this happens you want to hear is your child okay? I’m so sorry. Not can we replace your meal?” Taylor said.
Operator Michael Osborne, local franchise Operator of Chick-fil-A The Waterfront, provided Channel 11 with the following statement: “This is not up to our standards. We are aware of this issue, have reached out to the guest, and are actively investigating.”
“The worst thing that could’ve happened, thank God it didn’t, but it could have,” Taylor said.
Taylor said the family is planning to seek legal counsel to advise them on how to move forward.
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