Posted on 10/31/2002 5:54:52 AM PST by stainlessbanner
ORLANDO, Fla. - A Tampa man is suing Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant after the tip of a hypodermic needle allegedly lodged in the roof of his mouth as he ate a chicken sandwich.
Ralph Walker said he's suffered recurring violent nightmares since the May 12, 2001 incident, resulting in the postponement of his marriage and emotional troubles for his 6-year-old son. He was visiting the restaurant at Universal Studios Orlando CityWalk with his fiancee and young son.
"Sometimes it's not real fun around here," said Walker, who works as a truck driver.
The lawsuit, filed in Orange County, asks for damages in excess of $15,000.
John Bussey, the attorney for Margaritaville Holdings, the restaurant's parent company, did not return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.
Walker said he has so far tested negative for any diseases that could've been carried by the needle, such as the AIDS virus and hepatitis. But he said he feared that an illness could spring up in the future.
Hepatitis C can lie dormant in the body for up to 30 years before flaring up. It is an inflammation of the liver that can cause cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
"I want to make sure my son is taken care of," Walker said. "If daddy's not around, where does that leave him?"
Negotiations for an out-of-court settlement broke down last month. The company never denied that Walker bit into a needle, said Walker's attorney, Steve W. Igou, but they refused to pay what Walker was asking because he never became sick.
"(Margaritaville) said just go for it," Igou said. "I said, `It's not going to be pretty.'"
The grifter who invented it, and his first few imitators, scored big from juries, but I don't think anybody has hit with this one for the past few years.
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