Man dies from shellfish allergy after served wrong dinner www.privateofficer.com
Posted by privateofficernews on July 9, 2008
Man dies from shellfish allergy after served wrong dinner entree www.privateofficer.com
An autopsy Monday confirmed that 35-year-old Rodney Hawkins went into anaphylactic shock and died after eating the dish at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Lovejoy last week. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said Hawkins had ordered a chicken dish that contained no shellfish but was served another chicken dish that contained crab.
Hawkins immediately began showing symptoms and collapsed at the restaurant, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But Rick Johnson, spokesman for the Marvyille, Tenn.-based Ruby Tuesday company, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the server’s order pad and the kitchen ticket indicate that Hawkins ordered the Chicken Oscar, a dish with crab meat. Johnson called the situation “tragic” and expressed condolences for Hawkins’ family.
Rodney “Krook” Hawkins’ wife disputes the Maryville, Tenn.-based chain’s account, saying — through a family representative — that her husband did not order the Chicken Oscar entree, which contains crab meat. Linda Hawkins accompanied her husband to the restaurant.
We will do what is necessary to see that this doesn’t happen again,” said Chicago attorney Joseph Leonardi, speaking on behalf of the Hawkins family.
Hawkins, 35, collapsed and went into anaphylactic shock Thursday night soon after consuming the shellfish at the Ruby Tuesday on Tara Boulevard, according to an autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The welder and aspiring rapper was rushed to Southern Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead a half hour later.
Investigators have suggested a mix-up in the dinner order, but won’t file any criminal charges.
“He had ordered the Chicken Fresco and the Chicken Oscar was brought out by mistake,” said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.
Ruby Tuesday said its own review revealed no such error.
The two dishes, restaurant officials point out, differ significantly in appearance. Chicken Fresco is topped with a tomato slice and chopped green herbs, while Chicken Oscar has crab meat and asparagus spears.
“She [the server] is very clear that he repeated more than one time that Chicken Oscar was his choice,” said Johnson, whose company has more than 25 metro Atlanta locations. “We don’t believe there was any confusion on her part. Had he been confused . . . when the dish was brought to the table it would be been clearly visible to him that it had crab meat on it.”
Virginia Hawkins said in a phone interview from her Momence, Ill., home that her brother was allergic to shellfish since childhood. She said he moved from Illinois to metro Atlanta to pursue a rap music career.
Anaphylaxis occurs when a trigger activates immune cells, which then release large amounts of multiple substances, including histamine, into the bloodstream, according to UpToDate
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