A jury in Brevard County awarded $14 million to Brandy Buckley on Tuesday for injuries she suffered after swallowing a nail and metal fragments from ice cream in 2018. The incident occurred at Brewster’s Ice Cream on Malabar Road in Palm Bay, according to court documents. Buckley said she took a bite of butter pecan ice cream and felt something sharp in her throat, which she initially thought was a pecan. She later discovered two metal shards in the ice cream after an X-ray revealed a nail embedded in her intestines. Buckley required surgery and developed a blood clot that led to an ablation procedure, which prevented her from having more children. She had lost a daughter in 2011 and said having more children was a long-held goal. Buckley’s attorney, Matthew Hensley, said the award was for the 2018 incident. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, accused Brewster’s Ice Cream and its parent company, Malabar Creameries, of negligence. In a 2020 response, the defendants denied many of Buckley’s claims, accusing her of exaggerating her injuries. Hensley said the jury’s decision reflects the severity of Buckley’s ordeal. 'This was a preventable tragedy,' he said. Buckley described the experience as 'crazy' and said she never expected to find a nail in her ice cream. 'I thought it was a pecan,' she said. The case has drawn attention to food safety practices at ice cream shops in the area. Brewster’s Ice Cream did not immediately comment on the award. Buckley plans to use the settlement to cover medical expenses and ongoing care.