The family of a woman who died of a blood infection hours after eating a takeout meal, has filed a food poisoning lawsuit against a Florida Mexican food restaurant.
Courtney Rohn, 32, died at Homestead Hospital on January 5, a day after eating a beef chimichanga she ordered from El Toro Taco, a restaurant in downtown Homestead, Florida.
The food poisoning wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging the restaurant was responsible for Rohn’s sepsis death brought about by contaminated food prepared in unsanitary conditions. Claims are presented for negligence, strict liability and violations of the Florida Food Safety Act.
Did You Know?
Millions of Philips CPAP Machines Recalled
Philips DreamStation, CPAP and BiPAP machines sold in recent years may pose a risk of cancer, lung damage and other injuries.
Learn MoreAccording to the complaint, Rohn got food for herself and her son on January 4, and awoke in the early morning hours of January 5 suffering from severe food poisoning symptoms. She was admitted to the emergency room of Homestead Hospital, where she then suffered cardiac arrest and died within three hours of her arrival.
The food poisoning death was allegedly caused by sepsis, a form of body-wide inflammation that results from the reaction to an infection. Symptoms can include high heart rate, a high respiratory rate, a high or low body temperature and elevated white blood cell count. Sepsis can cause organ damage and organ failure, and severe cases result in death about 20 to 35% of the time.
Following Rohn’s death, state inspectors cited El Toro Taco with 53 sanitation and safety violations, saying that 35 of those violations were critical problems that could lead to food contamination, illness or environmental damage, according to a report in the Miami Herald. In May, the restaurant had to pay a $500 fine to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which was the second time in a three-month period that the restaurant had been cited for violations.
Get more articles like this sent directly to your inbox.
"*" indicates required fields
1 Comments
LARRYAugust 23, 2009 at 12:38 am
WATCH OUT FOR ANIMAL FEED BUT DON’T CONCERN YOURSELF ABOUT FOOD OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILY’S EAT I have been fighting to have millions of pounds of contaminated meat recalled that was produced using a warehouse facility that makes the PBA facility look like the Ritz. The pictures I gave to the USDA and the FDA showed RAT fecal matter and rodents nests on food ingredients and materials, I submitted do[Show More]WATCH OUT FOR ANIMAL FEED BUT DON’T CONCERN YOURSELF ABOUT FOOD OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILY’S EAT I have been fighting to have millions of pounds of contaminated meat recalled that was produced using a warehouse facility that makes the PBA facility look like the Ritz. The pictures I gave to the USDA and the FDA showed RAT fecal matter and rodents nests on food ingredients and materials, I submitted documents to the USDA proving the use of this contaminated warehouse for years and was denied a recall of my own products .Why –to protect a State institution that was contracted to produce this meat for my company. Agencies state the manufacturer must generate the recall and the FDA and USDA not having the authority to initiate this action as the reason bad food gets into the system .This is not so ,I am proof of this statement not being accurate. Even when the USDA went and found this contaminated warehouse with live rodents they never tested any product for salmonella and co-operated with the state of Florida to use possible contaminated ingredients in further meat processing. I appeal to you to visit my blog site http://bullstone-larrym.blogspot.com/ and see the evidence of rat fecal contamination in meats produced by an instrument of the State of Florida department of Corrections. I have been battling with the USDA to issue a recall on the millions of pounds of meat the State of Florida produced under contract for my company. This meat was distributed nation wide to schools, supermarkets and institutions. When we discovered that this Florida State division was storing food supplies and edible ingredients in a rat infested warehouse we began our quest to get this information to the public and get accountability placed on those who allowed this to happen. When you read the information on my blog you will see the validity of both our stories .I support your efforts and request your support of mine.