McDonald's Faces Suit After Girl Becomes Ill

http://www.clickondetroit.com/health/7203213/detail.html ^

[ShadowDancer]

McDonald's Faces Suit After Girl Becomes Ill

POSTED: 9:03 pm EST February 18, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The parents of a 5-year-old girl have sued McDonald's Corporation claiming its French fries contained a wheat protein that caused their daughter to become seriously ill.

Mark and Theresa Chimiak said in the lawsuit filed Friday in Palm Beach Circuit Court that their daughter Annalise had an intolerance to gluten.

The Chimiaks said they filed the lawsuit after McDonald's acknowledged earlier in the week that wheat and dairy ingredients were used in cooking oil for French fries.

The family's attorney, Brian W. Smith, said the family had checked with McDonald's before she ate the fries and were assured the product was gluten-free.

Jack Daly, senior vice president of McDonald's, said in an e-mail to the Palm Beach Post that the company is conducting research to determine that the fries have no gluten.

[hispanichoosier]

The family's attorney, Brian W. Smith, said the family had checked with McDonald's before she ate the fries and were assured the product was gluten-free.

If they did check with McD's, and the company misinformed them, then they have an excellent negligence case.

[pageonetoo]

My eldest daughter had "celiac disease" as an infant. She hardly gained wieght, and had loose bm's. After the doctor diagnosed her, we saw an immediate turnaround, after starting her on rice cakes, and other gluten-free stuff. It is not a disease in the real sense, but a body function not working properly. She eats anything now, and grew out of it by age 3... (but i still can't get her to eat her peas).

This suit is total Bravo Sierra, like the coffee incident. A smart lawyer (read that "Smarmy" slime) can make a federal case about anything.

[garyhope]

"said the family had checked with McDonald's before she ate the fries and were assured the product was gluten-free."

What, they asked a pimply faced 17 year old "associate" behind the counter "Do your fries have any gluten in them?", "No, they're just potatoes"

I smell a finger in the chili.

When did everyone become so sensitive to their food? Here's where I believe in Darwin. If you can't eat regular, normal food,...goodbye. Move on. RIP

[pageonetoo]

A smart lawyer (read that "Smarmy" slime) can make a federal case about anything.

I forget to post the pic...

[hispanichoosier]

This suit is total Bravo Sierra, like the coffee incident.

I disagree. If McD's told the family that the fries were gluten-free, but they weren't, it's classic negligence. It's akin to a restaurant telling me that a certain food has no peanuts (which I'm allergic to) but then it turns out that the food does have peanuts.

[grania]

When did everyone become so sensitive to their food?

When did people who were sensitive about their food let their kids eat McDonald's french fries?

As far as the sensitivity thing goes, prepared foods have so many ingredients now, you never know what you're getting.

If a child has issues, maybe, just maybe, Mom should consider cooking things from scratch for herself.

[sgtbono2002]

You cant expect counter people to know what's in the grease.

If you have a problem with certain foods and you have common sense you bag it.

This is another case of suit disease.

[hispanichoosier]

What, they asked a pimply faced 17 year old "associate" behind the counter "Do your fries have any gluten in them?", "No, they're just potatoes"

Doesn't matter if they asked the 17 y/o behind the counter or the CEO. In our Anglo-American common law system, a company is responsible for the actions of its employees if those actions are done while on the job and as part of the job. The doctrine, respondeat superior, goes back to the age-old question: who's in the best position to avoid the harm...the people who cook a million fries a day or the person who visits McD's a few times a year?

[garyhope]

Good point.

Also when did everybody start expecting perfect safety and no risk in every aspect of their lives? No risks, perfect safety, no danger is a fantasy and a luxury. It's OK if life has risks and is imperfect. It's called life 101.

[hispanichoosier]

You cant expect counter people to know what's in the grease.

Maybe I can't, but that's what the law expects. As I noted in a prior post, in our system the actions of employees are imputed to their employers as long as the actions are done while on the job and as part of the job.

[lindor]

McDonald's has this covered in their "McDonald's USA Food Allergens and Sensitivities Listing " list.

I'm sure that pimply faced kid was incapable of reading it.

http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.allergens.index.html

[Guenevere]

bttt

[hispanichoosier]

Also when did everybody start expecting perfect safety and no risk in every aspect of their lives?

I don't think it's about eliminating all risks but about eliminating risks that we know about. It wouldn't take a gargantuan expenditure of money, for example, to post a cardboard sign stating that "Fries Contain Gluten" if they indeed do have it.

One thing to remember is that even at common law (in 1600s England), inkeepers had a heightened duty of care toward their patrons. The idea that a resteraunteur has a duty to a customer isn't that new.

[hispanichoosier]

McDonald's has this covered in their "McDonald's USA Food Allergens and Sensitivities Listing " list.

In that case, McD's will have a valid defense for trial and may even be able to dispose of this case at the summary judgment stage.

[cbkaty]

Whatever happened to using plain old potatoes in plain old cooking oil?

[pageonetoo]

On another thread, it was explained that the fries are wheat free, but the oil has some stuff added to enhance flavors.

You sound like a good lawyer wannabe or you may be one, from the tone of your post)... It's not always somebody else's fault, friend. There was no major problem caused by this child eating some french fries, and I would bet big money on it. It is a lawyer trying to get paid!

I explained my experience about gluten intolerance, but I will go further. Here's a link to some real facts...

Celiac Disease: A lifelong autoimmune intestinal disorder, found in individuals who are genetically susceptible. Damage to the mucosal surface of the small intestine is caused by an immunologically toxic reaction to the ingestion of gluten and interferes with the absorption of nutrients.

Celiac Disease (CD) is unique in that a specific food component, gluten, has been identified as the trigger.

Gluten is the common name for the offending proteins in specific cereal grains that are harmful to persons with CD. These proteins are found in all forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn, and faro), and related grains, rye, barley, and triticale and must be eliminated.

[pageonetoo]

Yep, you're probably a lawyer...

[NCLaw441]

You said, in part: Doesn't matter if they asked the 17 y/o behind the counter or the CEO. In our Anglo-American common law system, a company is responsible for the actions of its employees if those actions are done while on the job and as part of the job.
***
You are correct, of course. The issue here is whether it is part of the job description of the counter help to advise what the ingredients in the cooking oil used by McDonald's are. I am not sure that it is part of that job.

[DumpsterDiver]

This suit is total Bravo Sierra, like the coffee incident. A smart lawyer (read that "Smarmy" slime) can make a federal case about anything.

This article says there should be no problem with the fries.

McDonald's news fries parents of allergic kids - February 15, 2006

To parents like Kaur, french fries had been one of the few "safe" items on fast-food menus. But on Monday, McDonald's acknowledged that a flavoring agent in the cooking oil used to make fries is derived from wheat and dairy ingredients, which can be off-limits to people with food allergies.

Still, physicians say there is no need to set off alarm bells yet.

The disclosure doesn't automatically put McDonald's fries on the forbidden list, according to Dr. Stefano Guandalini, a pediatric gastroenterologist with the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Program...

"When you process the ingredients such as wheat in order to derive flavoring, you leave the gluten behind," Guandalini explained, comparing it to vinegar, another product from grains that are neutralized by the distillation process. "We have never found any evidence that eating french fries is a problem."

[snip]