Man found condom in his Western Whopper sandwich

A man who says he bit into a Burger King sandwich and found an unwrapped condom inside has sued the owner of the restaurant.

Van Miguel Hartless, 24, of Fair Haven, said Friday he bought the Southwestern Whopper at a Burger King in Rutland on June 18 and made the discovery when he got home and started eating it.

"My third bite into the burger, it was just a foreign taste," he said. "It was a very sour, bitter sort of taste. It almost had a numbing sensation.

"As I went to bite down a little harder, I felt a rubber grind in between my teeth. I saw it half in my mouth, half hanging out. It was an immediate sick-to-my-stomach type of thing."

Hartless said he waited three weeks before contacting an attorney. His lawsuit, filed Nov. 16, names store owner Carrols Corp., of Syracuse, N.Y., and seeks damages for pain and suffering, emotional duress and medical expenses.

Hartless said he has suffered from vomiting, nightmares and emotional distress. He said he also has incurred medical expenses, because he's worried about whether the condom had been used.