Callisto in NC
Washing Up
No, the article in a later post.Are we talking about the article in the first post? If so then no where in that article does it say the man was eating what he thought was crab.
No, the article in a later post.Are we talking about the article in the first post? If so then no where in that article does it say the man was eating what he thought was crab.
I disagree with your assessment of the overheated coffee in the MD story. Water boils at 212 degrees, and will not get hotter unless it is pressurized. I make coffee at boiling temperature, and expect it to be served hot. On the other hand, I do not put paper cups of hot liquids between my legs and drive off. Unless the patron informed MD's that she was going to put the coffee between her legs and wanted cold coffee. I do not see how a restaurant should be responsible. I'm not sure about the subject story. Seems to me that I were deathly allergic to something, I would be positive that I was not eating it. If I ordered a chicken dish without seafood, and got crab, not vegetables, I somehow feel I would have been suspicious and checked before I tasted the dish. Too often people sue first and ask questions later, and we all pay.I'm sure will hear more about this. And maybe even hear the whole story.
I was always mad about coffee from McD story, until recently I learned the whole story. Even though the woman was stupid enough to put the cup between her legs it was the discrenatal emploee who turned the heat in the coffee pot so hot that her skin melted.
So until we know the whole story here, there is nothing that we can say or decide.
Although it was probably a fluke, the man in the article could have possibly avoided dying if he had been as conscientious as these kids.
Barbara
This was my thought too. I know kids with the peanut problem. They tell the server at every restaurant, and they don't look like freaks at all, because nuts can be in things you don't even think about. Restaurants who use peanut oil can "cross contaminate" (for lack of a better word) utensils from the peanut to the regular, tongs for example. The same can happen with fish products. If someone is that allergic to the point it will kill them, they won't look like a freak telling the server, they'll look conscientious.Although it was probably a fluke, the man in the article could have possibly avoided dying if he had been as conscientious as these kids.
Barbara
Thanks mozart.OK, I'm not a lawyer, so this is just an opinion. I think Callisto is on the right track.
Chicken Oscar and Chicken Fresco, as described, would not seem to be hard to distinguish from one another, BEFORE that first bite.
OK, I'm not a lawyer, so this is just an opinion. I think Callisto is on the right track.
The courts have ruled that restaurants are not always liable when food is not served as ordered. For example, if you get clam shells fragments in your clam chowder, or bones in your fish, or pits in your cherry cobbler. The reasoning is that these items are a natural part of the food, so a patron has to assume they may be present and take precautions. Even when the patron asks beforehand, "Is there bones in your fish?", the restaurant has not been held liable.
Is there anyone on this site who hasn't ordered at a restaurant and gotten the Wong dish? I have on more than one occasion. Even more common would be to say, "Give me ______, but no onions or tomatoes."
Maybe a 1000 times for that one.
I think a normal, reasonable person has to assume that a restaurant may not follow their ordering instructions and be prepared to take whatever the appropriate action is. For most of us, that is either accept it, or send it back. Again, maybe I just pull the onions or tomatoes off and eat it.
However, suppose I'm allergic to even a small amount of onion or tomato juice, that will obviously be left on the dish? Then, of course, I send it back and tell the waitress that I am highly allergic.
It is my opinion, and not as a lawyer, that the court may well find that someone who is aware that they have an acute allergy to a food, has an obligation to inform the restaurant personnel when ordering and perhaps even a further obligation to inspect their served food for that particular item.
Chicken Oscar and Chicken Fresco, as described, would not seem to be hard to distinguish from one another, BEFORE that first bite.
I disagree with your assessment of the overheated coffee in the MD story. Water boils at 212 degrees, and will not get hotter unless it is pressurized. I make coffee at boiling temperature, and expect it to be served hot. On the other hand, I do not put paper cups of hot liquids between my legs and drive off. Unless the patron informed MD's that she was going to put the coffee between her legs and wanted cold coffee. I do not see how a restaurant should be responsible. I'm not sure about the subject story. Seems to me that I were deathly allergic to something, I would be positive that I was not eating it. If I ordered a chicken dish without seafood, and got crab, not vegetables, I somehow feel I would have been suspicious and checked before I tasted the dish. Too often people sue first and ask questions later, and we all pay.
Someone with food allergy may not want to state it everywhere he goes as if it is a handicap or something. My son has Celiac, and even though he is just little, I doubt he as he gets older he wants to tell everyone everywhere he goes that he can't have gluten. He will want to live as normal a life as possible. He should be able to order a salad with no dressing or croutons without having to inform the waitress that if he eats anything that has touched a crouton his stomach will bloat and he will have diarrhea for the next two days.
Where do you draw the line? If the man was ordering ice cream should he have to tell the person behind the counter that he is allergic to crab? If he is ordering a cheese pizza does he have to mention it?
The person with the allergy is responsible to make sure that what goes into his/her mouth does not contain anything that they are allergic to, but you can not expect a person to mention it every single time they order food. It is ultimately their responsibility (I am not talking legally), but common sense needs to be used as well.
Depending on the severity of the allergy cross contamination might not be enough to trigger a reaction.Have you ever heard of cross contamination? If you don't inform the restaurant that you're ALLERGIC to something vs. you just don't want something, you're basically playing roulette. It's your responsibility to take control of what you're eating.
Have you ever heard of cross contamination? If you don't inform the restaurant that you're ALLERGIC to something vs. you just don't want something, you're basically playing roulette. It's your responsibility to take control of what you're eating.
The point is though that you can never be 100% sure unless you ask. I have seem (as I am sure you have) ice creams that had flavors in them that you would not expect. Wasn't it Iron Chef that had a trout ice cream? Now if you go into one of these ice cream places that had 50 or 60 or more flavors and you don't happen to read every single one then for all you know their could be a crab bisque ice cream on the menu. You really can never be sure unless you ask and even them you are relying on someone who may or may not give you accurate info.I don't think it's an issue if you're going to a specialty restaurant like an ice cream parlor or a pizza joint that doesn't have any crab on their menu.