Mac N Cheese (Thinkstock)

A Bend woman is suing the grocer Safeway after she broke her hip and neck slipping on macaroni and cheese.

Kathleen Chism, 70, is seeking $575,952.76 in damages from the national chain for failing to identify the spilled pasta and notify customers at Safeway on Bend’s east side, according to a complaint filed Dec. 29 in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

Chism’s attorney Brian Dretke said he was moved to file after receiving no response from any of Safeway’s registered agents.

Safeway has 30 days to answer the complaint.

A spokeswoman for Safeway said the company cannot comment on pending litigation.

According to her suit, Chism was shopping at the Safeway location at the Forum Shopping Center on northeast Highway 20 on July 11, 2016. Her lawyer told The Bulletin that on entering the store, Chism noticed fallen macaroni and cheese at the store’s salad bar station. The spill, however, was larger than what she saw, Dretke said, and while walking to alert a deli staff member of the spill, she slipped on pasta that had been tracked elsewhere by other people.

Dretke said his client suffered neck and hip fractures and muscle, nerve and tendon damage. He said Chism required a hip replacement and still attends physical therapy sessions.

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com