Woman Says She Found Bloody Bandage In Burger Officials At Mcdonald’s Are Skeptical Of Her Claim

At first, Lisa Nelson says, she thought it was just a particularly tough pickle.

While munching a cheeseburger on her way back to work Tuesday, Nelson says, she bit into a bloody adhesive bandage.

“It’s a good-sized Band-Aid,” she said.

Disgusted, she said she made a U-turn and sped back to Coeur d’Alene’s Hanley Avenue McDonald’s, where she’d bought the burger. She held the half-chewed mass out toward workers. The restaurant manager peered at it and offered a replacement sandwich.

But it’s not the cheeseburger Nelson’s worried about. The 31-year-old Coeur d’Alene auto parts clerk said she’s worried about the possibility of the AIDS virus or hepatitis on the bandage.

“Right now, I’m just really scared,” she said Tuesday, sobbing. “I’ve thrown up so much I can’t throw up anymore.”

The McDonald’s official in Spokane who’s handling her complaint said he’s profoundly skeptical.

“I’d be surprised if that’s where it came from,” said Chris Weber. “I don’t think there’s any substance to her complaint.”

Any claims filed against the restaurant, he said, would be turned over to McDonald’s insurance company for investigation.

Also skeptical was Denney Rutherford, a professor who teaches hospitality law at Washington State University’s hotel and restaurant management program. He’s a frequent expert witness in fraud cases.

“I would be extremely suspicious if she said she found a bloody Band-Aid in a McDonald’s cheeseburger,” said Rutherford. “McDonald’s ain’t dumb.”

“Foreign things do get into food,” he said, “but their (McDonald’s) system is so well-researched and so good. It’s one of the cleanest restaurants you’ll ever eat in.”

Such claims are fairly common in the food industry, he said, but rarely lead to big cash settlements.

Despite the skepticism of McDonald’s and Rutherford, Nelson insists the bandage was in the burger.

“It happened,” she said. “I’ll take a lie detector test. It was in the sandwich.”

Nelson saved the cloth bandage, still bearing a bite mark and bits of cheese and onion. She gargled with salt water and peroxide. Local health officials recommended blood tests for communicable diseases.

“They told me they couldn’t test the Band-Aid, that I needed to find the person that was wearing it,” said Nelson.

It’s not the first time someone’s shown up at Panhandle Health District with some disgusting thing they allegedly found in food.

Marie Rau, public health nursing supervisor, said she’s seen a mouse in a bottle of pop, a worm in a candy bar, and a fingernail - but thankfully, no finger - in a salad.

“It happens,” said Rau. “People are people.”

She said the odds are extremely slim of contracting hepatitis or AIDS by chewing on a bandage.

For one thing, she said, the virus that causes AIDS is very weak outside the body. Hepatitis is hardier, she said, but would have a hard time surviving the cheeseburger’s acidic pickle, onion and ketchup.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo