Today's "snake tale" courtesy of Eagen, MN, and a McDonalds:
Joanne Borgerding was sitting in a packed Eagan McDonald's at lunchtime, eating a chicken sandwich and reading a book when something moved beneath her booth. Dancing in the air by her legs were "little movable eyes" that were attached to a dark, 2-foot-long snake.
"I looked face to face at it," Borgerding said. "I know people in the drive-up heard me — I screamed that loud."
Borgerding also flew out of her booth and in the process injured her foot so badly that she says she has permanent nerve damage. She asked McDonald's insurance company to pay her medical bills, but the company denied her claims, she said. Now she is seeking in excess of $50,000 in a personal injury complaint that she expects to file in Dakota County next month.
Actually, the incident happened in 2002, and Borgerding's main complaint seems to be that no McDonald's employees assisted her at the time. McDonald's also seems understandably reluctant to take responsibility for the presence of a critter that wasn't on their menu:
Kay Butler, who owns the McDonald's along with her husband, Thomas, had no comment Monday. Fred Keller, a McDonald's spokesman, said he didn't know if a snake was in the restaurant that day, but it is investigating.
"We don't feel that this (snake) could have come from our restaurant; in fact, we think it's highly unlikely. … We work hard to have a safe restaurant. We caution in drawing a conclusion," Keller said. "We just feel this could have been an unfortunate practical joke. … I know the cleanliness practice of the restaurants. I ask myself, 'How could this happen? Maybe somebody brought it in?' It could have been a fake plastic one."
A cheap shot; the local animal control is on record as saying that the animal was probably a live garter snake, although it's worth noting that the snake had been caught and released by the time animal control arrived. Borgerding wants money for her pain and suffering, and an apology. The McDonald's attitude seems to be, "Why blame us? We didn't put the snake under your booth."
*Sigh* And here I have to go purchase snakes, while people like Borgerding get them for free...
Posted by kswygert at January 20, 2004 01:11 PM