A Cheesecake Factory patron with a severe peanut allergy went into anaphylactic shock after taking a bite of a dish she was assured would be peanut-free but came out of the kitchen “smothered in peanut sauce,” according to a lawsuit obtained by The Independent.
uncertain
she → go → Independent
In a civil complaint filed September 11 in Harris County District Court, Caylin Tucker, 22, says she was out to dinner with her parents last June when the “preventable incident” occurred.
asserted
incident → file → parents
The three were at a Cheesecake Factory in the Houston area, and before ordering, Tucker “let her waiter… know that she has a severe peanut allergy and would like to be sure her meal does not contain peanuts.”
asserted
meal → order → peanuts
“The waiter assured [Tucker] that her meal could be made without peanuts,” the complaint continues.
uncertain
complaint → assure → peanuts
However, when Tucker took the first bite, she “immediately noticed” that the dish “contained peanuts and was smothered in peanut sauce,” the complaint goes on.
asserted
complaint → take → sauce
It claims Tucker felt her tongue and lips start to swell, after which her throat started to close up amid the onset of anaphylaxis.
uncertain
throat → claim → anaphylaxis
As Tucker struggled to breathe, she broke out in hives, the complaint continues.
asserted
complaint → struggle → hives
Cheesecake Factory employees began apologizing to Tucker upon realizing the gravity of the situation, according to the complaint.
uncertain
employees → begin → complaint
Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that shuts down the body’s airways and can be fatal without immediate medical intervention.
asserted
that → shut → intervention
For some, it can come on quickly, without warning.
asserted
it → come → warning
In one instance highlighted by the Mayo Clinic, a 20-year-old woman with a shellfish allergy nearly died from an anaphylactic reaction that occurred shortly after she kissed her boyfriend, who had eaten shrimp earlier that day.
asserted
who → highlight → shrimp
Tucker “required emergency medical treatment and incurred substantial medical expenses,” the complaint states.
asserted
complaint → require → expenses
It says she also suffered “physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, physical impairment, inconvenience and other damages.”
asserted
she → say → pain
The complaint does not specify the dish that Tucker ordered, or whether or not the peanut sauce was visible to her before she started eating.
asserted
she → specify → her
It also does not say if she had an EpiPen with her – a self-administered dose of epinephrine, which can buy precious time for someone in anaphylaxis – or if she was taken to the hospital.
asserted
she → say → hospital
Tucker’s attorney did not respond on Monday to messages seeking further details.
asserted
attorney → respond → details
Tucker’s complaint blames the Cheesecake Factory and the unnamed server for promising, but failing to deliver, a meal without peanuts.
asserted
complaint → blame → peanuts
Further, the complaint claims the Cheesecake Factory breached its duty to “exercise ordinary care in the preparation, inspection, handling and service of food.”
uncertain
Factory → claim → food
Among other things, it says the chain and the individual employees in question failed to abide by proper allergen-safety protocols, failed to properly communicate Tucker’s order to kitchen staff and failed to warn Tucker of “the presence of peanuts” in her food.
asserted
chain → say → food
The complaint also criticizes the Cheesecake Factory, which is known for its near-endless menu and gargantuan portions, for allegedly failing to train employees on “how to properly document customers’ allergies,” and, “how to properly check the food before giving it to customers.”
uncertain
which → criticize → customers
Tucker bears no responsibility for what happened to her, the complaint contends.
asserted
complaint → bear → her
Instead, it claims the Cheesecake factory is the one ultimately responsible for the “acts and omissions of its employees,” including the kitchen staff who prepared Tucker’s food, and the server who brought it to her.
uncertain
who → claim → her
Food safety issues involving the Cheesecake Factory, which did not respond to a request for comment, are uncommon but not unheard of.
asserted
which → involve → comment
In 2013, a Wisconsin man was awarded $14,000 after he contracted scombroid poisoning from an apparently spoiled piece of mahi mahi at a Cheesecake Factory near Milwaukee.
asserted
he → award → Milwaukee
“For quite some time I was pretty scared,” 49-year-old Ghassan Batayneh said after the settlement agreement was made public.
asserted
agreement → say → time
“I stopped eating fish and sushi for a while, but now I’m very selective on where I eat my food.”
asserted
I → stop → food
The following year, a batch of tainted whipped cream traced to a Cheesecake Factory in Boise, Idaho, was allegedly responsible for transmitting Salmonella to at least half a dozen people.
uncertain
batch → whip → people
Nearly a decade later, a couple dining at a Cheesecake Factory in Jersey City, New Jersey, reportedly discovered a rubber glove in their mac-and-cheese bites.
uncertain
couple → din → bites
It mirrored a previous claim by a Southern California man who said he found a latex glove cooked into the fettuccine alfredo he ordered from a Cheesecake Factory in Santa Monica, California.
uncertain
he → mirror → Monica
At the time, Cheesecake Factory Senior Vice President of Operations Spero G. Alex issued a statement saying, “We take food safety and sanitation very seriously and are committed to providing a safe dining experience to all of our guests whether they dine-in or order take-out and delivery.”
asserted
they → issue → take
Alex apologized to the affected diners, and said the chain would be reviewing its food safety procedures.
asserted
chain → apologize → procedures
Tucker is now seeking a money judgment for past and future medical costs; past and future pain and suffering; past and future mental anguish; past and future physical impairment; and past and future disfigurement; plus pre and post-judgment interest, as well as court costs.
asserted
Tucker → seek → costs
The Aporia
