The Trader Joe's in Portland, Ore., where Julee O'Neil says she purchased orange juice that allegedly contained a severed human fingertip (Google Maps).
An Oregon woman took a swig of some orange juice she bought from Trader Joe's and wound up swallowing a severed human fingertip that she initially thought was a big piece of pulp, according to a lawsuit.
Julee O'Neil filed a legal complaint in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday against the Trader Joe's Company for $10,000 in damages plus legal fees.
The complaint, which was obtained by Law&Crime, alleges that O'Neil accidentally ingested the severed fingertip, which had a piece of a rubber glove at the end of it, in June 2025 after purchasing some organic orange juice from a Trader Joe's in Portland's Hollywood neighborhood located at 4121 Northeast Halsey Street.
O'Neil claims she purchased a 52-ounce bottle of Trader Joe's brand orange juice with pulp and tossed back some of it — and then immediately gagged. She had already consumed almost the entire bottle, according to the complaint.
"O'Neil was finishing the said orange juice, when she felt like there was a large piece of pulp in her mouth," the complaint states, noting how she believes she "inadvertently swallowed or ingested" a human fingertip that was in the "end of a rubber glove."
O'Neil claims she had been "periodically drinking" from the orange juice bottle until it was almost all gone, while the fingertip was inside.
"O'Neil was gagging and felt nauseated and had a burning sensation in her mouth," the complaint states. "She was and is concerned that the human hand that was in the tip of the glove was also severed and was part of the pulp."
O'Neil says she went to an urgent care clinic after swallowing the fingertip "to seek medical attention."
O'Neil sent a written notice asking for a settlement from Trader Joe's, but the grocery giant "failed, refused or neglected" to pay it, according to the complaint. The company did not respond to Law&Crime's requests for comment Wednesday.
O'Neil's lawyer, Anthony Furniss, also did not respond to requests for comment.
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