Kentucky Injury Law Blog

In Kentucky, the wife of a Louisville man who died after eating at a popular Shelbyville restaurant is suing the eatery for her husband’s wrongful death. David, 72, Maupin died two days after Easter in 2008.

His wife’s Kentucky wrongful death lawsuit accuses the Claudia Sanders Dinner House of serving Maupin tainted food for Easter Dinner. Following the alleged incident, the restaurant shut down for a few days. The North Central Public Health Department found that the hams that were served that day were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause food poisoning.

The plaintiff’s wrongful death lawyer says what may have happened is that a kitchen worker or a cooking utensil was carrying the bacteria, which lead to it spreading to the hams. He claims that the Kentucky restaurant is responsible for Maupin’s wrongful death even if they were not aware that the bacteria had found its way into the restaurant's kitchen.

Staphylococcal Food Poisoning
According for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Staphylococcus aureus can produce seven of the different toxins that can cause food poisoning. Staphylococcal food poisoning is a type of gastronomical sickness. The leading ways that food becomes contaminated with the bacteria is through food workers who are carrying the bacteria or from other contaminated food products or cooking tools. Staphylococcus aureus is known to grow quite well in foods with salt, such as ham. As the germ grows in the food, it creates toxins that can make people sick.

A person who ingests Staphylococcal toxins can become ill within 30 minutes of eating. Food poisoning symptoms can show up as early as one hour after someone eats the contaminated food product. Symptoms may include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Although usually this type of food poisoning is treatable and recovery frequently occurs within a few days, sometimes, the illness can be serious.

Premises Liability
Restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, fast food chains, and other eateries are supposed to properly prepare their food and make sure that there are no unsanitary conditions on the premise that could contaminate the food and make their patrons sick. Failure to exercise this duty of care could be grounds for a Kentucky premises liability or wrongful death lawsuit.

Wrongful death lawsuit filed against popular eatery, Wave 3, February 18, 2009
Staphylococcal Food Poisoning, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Related Web Resources:
Claudia Sanders Dinner House