LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A woman who claimed she was served a drug-laced cookie at a Woodland Hills hair salon received $25,000 to settle her lawsuit against the establishment, her attorney said.
“We think it’s a fair resolution of the matter,” said Barry Goldberg, attorney for 72-year-old Jo Ann Nickerson, on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Goldberg said the tainted cookie incident was an “aberration” and that the staff at Blush Salon is made up of “good people who do good work.”
Salon officials had filed court papers denying any wrongdoing.
In her suit filed Aug. 19, Nickerson said she visited the salon in October 2013 for beauty services and had not eaten anything else all day. As she was leaving, she took a cookie from a tray set out for guests and patrons, according to the suit, which claimed the business regularly provided baked home goods for its customers as part of its “service, hospitality and ambiance.”
Within an hour of eating the cookie, Nickerson developed “a severe reaction, including hallucinations, rapid heart beat, confusion, disorientation, light-headedness, dizziness, blurred vision, tingling, a headache and nausea,” the suit stated.
She found herself unable to speak, suffering from delayed speech and ultimately was completely incapacitated, the lawsuit alleged.
Thinking she might be having a heart attack, Nickerson sought medical attention at West Hills Hospital, where a blood test proved positive for THC, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects, according to her lawsuit.
Nickerson had never used marijuana “for any purpose at any time,” according to her complaint.