Rats!

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - A man shopping for a ribbon at a Dollar Tree store claims a rat nesting in the ribbon box bit him on the finger, and held on so hard he had to shake it off. And when an assistant manager came and moved the box, "three more rats jumped out at the assistant, causing the assistant to run and stand behind the store manager," the shocked shopper claims in state court.

Bernard King says he was bitten by the rat at about 3 p.m. on March 23. He claims the rat that bit him "was part of a nest of rats in the box of ribbons," and says he had "to shake his hand vigorously ... to force the rat's clenched teeth to disengage."

King adds that after the manager filled out an incident report of "the rat attack and bite [which] occurred in the presence of the plaintiff and a witness," the manger refused his request for a copy of the report.

The manager told him to go to a hospital and send the bills to Dollar Tree, but King says that's not enough. He seeks damages for negligence, for code violations, including failing to report the rat bite to the city, for medical care, and post-traumatic stress. He is represented by Christian Thompson.

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