‘Be careful where you eat’: Maryland woman says a plastic shard in her Jersey Mike’s sandwich sent her to the hospital

A Maryland woman says she was hospitalized after finding a plastic shard inside her Italian sandwich from Jersey Mike’s. The incident took place in late May and drew widespread attention after she shared her experience on TikTok.

The woman, who goes by @thewaxingdoll on TikTok, is a licensed esthetician. She documented the ordeal in a video that has since reached over 637,200 views, and included footage of herself waiting for care at a medical facility. The text overlay on her video read, “Jersey Mikes sent me to the hospital.”

In the caption, she explained that she ordered the meal from a Jersey Mike’s location at Woodmore Town Center on Sunday, May 24. She wrote, “As I was chewing, I felt something plastic, and when I look[ed] there was a plastic [shard] in my tonsils, and after x-rays, CT, and three failed IVs, I finally got it removed (but ended up swallowing it).” She also warned: “Be careful where you eat at.”

The corporate office allegedly did not respond to the claim

After the incident, the woman says she contacted the Jersey Mike’s location where she placed the order. She states her goal was to raise awareness about the issue, not to demand a refund. However, she reports that the staff’s response was dismissive.

She says she explained the full situation to the manager and offered to present her hospital discharge paperwork along with the remaining sandwich as evidence. According to her account, the manager told her they did not believe her claims.

She also alleged that she tried to contact the corporate office but was unable to get a response. Jersey Mike’s has not been cited in the original account as having publicly commented on the matter. The TikTok video drew a large volume of responses from viewers, many of whom expressed shock and sympathy. 

She is not the first person to find something alarming in fast food and turn to TikTok to document it. Several users encouraged her to seek legal counsel, while others suggested she file complaints with the Better Business Bureau or contact local news outlets to get more attention on the story. Some even recommended she attempt to take ownership of the store.

The incident has prompted broader discussion online about food safety and how restaurants handle customer complaints involving potential injuries. TikTok has increasingly become a platform where users raise real-world safety concerns to wide audiences, spanning everything from food to other industries. The woman noted that this type of content was not typical for her platform, but she felt it was necessary to alert others about what happened to her.