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The husband of a Lengthy Island physician who died of a extreme allergic response after consuming at a Disney World restaurant is suing the Walt Disney Firm and the restaurant, saying his spouse had been served allergens regardless of assurances that she wouldn’t be.
The physician, Kanokporn Tangsuan, died in October after eating along with her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, on the restaurant, the Raglan Street Irish Pub, in a bit of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in accordance with Mr. Piccolo’s lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 22.
Dr. Tangsuan, 42, of Carle Place, N.Y., was a household medication specialist affiliated with N.Y.U. Langone Hospital Lengthy Island. She and Mr. Piccolo have been visiting Disney World with Mr. Piccolo’s mom when Dr. Tangsuan died, in accordance with the lawsuit.
Brian R. Denney, a lawyer for Mr. Piccolo, stated in a press release that Dr. Tangsuan’s dying had been “completely preventable.” The couple, Mr. Denney stated, “trusted Disney’s Raglan Street to observe correct protocols and make good on their repeated guarantees to serve meals that was allergen free.”
Inquiries despatched to Disney and the restaurant in search of remark weren’t instantly returned.
As described within the go well with, the occasions resulting in Dr. Tangsuan’s dying unfolded as follows:
She, Mr. Piccolo and Mr. Piccolo’s mom went to the Raglan Street pub for dinner on Oct. 5. Dr. Tangsuan was severely allergic to dairy and nuts, and he or she and her husband selected the restaurant as a result of, based mostly on promoting wherein Disney indicated that lodging of individuals with meals allergy symptoms was a precedence at its resorts, they believed it might have the required safeguards to guard individuals with such allergy symptoms.
When a waiter got here to their desk, the couple instructed him about Dr. Tangsuan’s meals allergy symptoms, stated she required allergen-free meals and requested whether or not numerous menu objects contained allergens.
The waiter left to seek the advice of with the chef about whether or not sure meals could possibly be made allergen-free, returned to the desk, stated that they could possibly be and assured that allergen-free meals was what Dr. Tangsuan could be served.
The couple questioned the waiter a number of extra occasions to substantiate that the meals Dr. Tangsuan was ordering was allergen-free, they usually have been assured “unequivocally” that it might be.
Based mostly on that assure, Dr. Tangsuan ordered onion rings and objects labeled “Positive I’m Frittered,” “Scallop Forest” and “This Shepherd Went Vegan.”
When the waiter returned with Dr. Tangsuan’s order, a number of the objects didn’t have flags in them marking them as allergen-free. Dr. Tangsuan and Mr. Piccolo requested once more concerning the presence of allergens, and the waiter once more stated Dr. Tangsuan’s meals was allergen-free.
Dr. Tangsuan, Mr. Piccolo and Mr. Piccolo’s mom ate their meal. Once they completed, the 2 ladies went buying close by, and Mr. Piccolo returned to their lodge with leftovers from their meal.
About 45 minutes later, Dr. Tangsuan had a extreme allergic response after getting into the Planet Hollywood outlet. She started to have extreme issue respiratory, collapsed to the ground and used an EpiPen. Somebody quickly known as 911, and Dr. Tangsuan was taken to a hospital, the place she was pronounced useless.
An post-mortem by the District 9 health worker’s workplace in Orlando, Fla., decided that the reason for dying was anaphylaxis, or a extreme allergic response. The post-mortem report notes Dr. Tangsuan’s reported historical past of allergy symptoms to dairy merchandise and peanuts and stated that she had used an EpiPen earlier than turning into unresponsive. The way of dying was unintentional, the report says.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention reported in 2021 that 6.2 p.c of U.S. adults 18 and older had meals allergy symptoms, though deaths attributable to such allergy symptoms are uncommon. As an illustration, there have been 24 food-allergy deaths in New York Metropolis from 2000 to 2014, together with 4 from peanuts, in accordance with a examine revealed in The Journal of Public Well being Administration and Apply.
Claire Fahy contributed reporting.
