Family Sues Restaurant

[Jazzy]

A family in Minnesota is suing a local restaurant after their son ate two pancakes there and died last June. They say that 16-year-old Scott Johnson, who was so allergic to dairy that trace amounts had sent him to the emergency room before and the family generally avoided dining out, ate the breakfast only after his mother asked the server if the gluten-free pancakes were also dairy free, and said the cook would have to also clean the griddle before making them. "Things that you wouldn't even imagine have dairy in them," mom Cindy Johnson tells KFOR 4. "He had just finished and he said, 'We have to go now.'"

By the time the family got home, Scott was in such bad shape—and his EpiPen and nebulizer, which ordinarily helped open his lungs during an allergic reaction, weren't helping—that he was airlifted to a hospital in Fargo, ND, reports WDAZ. He died three days later from anaphylactic shock that led to heart failure. "Just one mistake can take someone's life," his mom says. "I miss him just as much today as the day after." The family hopes Scott's story will alert others to how serious allergies can be.

Source

Is the local restaurant responsible for his death? Why / Why not?

 

[~KAGE-008]

My answer is yes in this case. The restaurant cookers must think on what some products might do if those are eaten by people who ARE allergic or intolerant to lactose. Now they have to adapt their equipment and (possibly) the menu in order to prevent future cases similar to this.

 

[Jazzy]

So obviously Scott forgot to bring his Epi-pen and nebulizer to the restaurant, the tools he'd used before to open his lungs and help him through an allergic reaction.

That will play a big role in determining fault in this lawsuit. Such a "special occasion" as eating out at a restaurant and he forgot to bring the two necessary medications with him? The mother failed to ensure he had his emergency kit?

Furthermore, the family didn't call 911 until after they got home, the boy used his epi-pen and inhaler, and the medications seemed not to be working. The question for the jury then becomes how bad would it have been if he'd had his emergency medications at the restaurant with him? So, how much blame rests with the restaurant, the family itself, and the delay in getting him medical treatment?

 

[beowulf]

i think the parents must take at least 90% of the blame if not 100%...........they know theres a risk

however im sure the lawyers are queing up to help them sue........for a cut of course