A Florida woman has been awarded a massive $14.1 million jury verdict after she discovered nails and metal fragments inside an ice cream cone that left her with severe internal injuries and permanent infertility.
The case centers on Brandy Buckley, who in 2018 bought a butter pecan ice cream cone from a Bruster’s location in Palm Bay, Florida. What should have been a simple dessert turned into a medical emergency when she unknowingly consumed pieces of metal hidden in the ice cream.
According to court records and multiple reports, Buckley later required surgery to remove foreign objects from her intestines after experiencing serious complications. Medical findings linked the incident to lasting damage, including permanent infertility, forming a key part of the damages claimed in court.
Images circulated from the case show a close-up of the contaminated waffle cone with a visible nail embedded in the ice cream, alongside a symbolic stack of cash representing the jury award.
The legal battle stretched over eight years, with Buckley pursuing claims against the shop and its franchise operators for negligence and failure to ensure food safety. The jury ultimately sided with her in March 2026, concluding that the contamination caused significant and irreversible harm.
Food safety experts note that incidents involving foreign objects in packaged or served food are rare, but when they do occur, they can lead to severe internal injuries depending on size, material, and whether the object is swallowed unknowingly.
While the defense arguments were not detailed in the report, the verdict reflects the jury’s acceptance that the restaurant chain bore responsibility for the contamination event and its consequences.
The case has also reignited discussion around food safety standards in franchise operations, particularly how quality control lapses can escalate into life-altering injuries for consumers.
For Buckley, the verdict closes a long legal chapter that began with a single bite of ice cream and ended in one of the more unusual product liability awards seen in recent years.