EDWARDSVILLE -- A customer is suing an Edwardsville restaurant, alleging its fish dish caused her to suffer from colitis.
Collette Andre, who is suing VCH LLC doing business as EdgeWild Restaurant, has also named the Performance Food Group as a defendant. She filed the suit in Madison County Circuit Court.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants were negligent for failing to prepare the food properly. She says she "ingested food containing bacteria or viruses that caused severe colitis" during a January visit to the restaurant. The food was distributed by Performance Food Group.
Colitis is a digestive disease that leads to inflammation of the colon.
Andre says she was "severely and permanently injured." The suit alleges she will suffer "lost wages as a result of her inability to take care of her mother and incur respite costs, that plaintiff has incurred and will continue to incur medical, doctor, and hospital bills."
The plaintiff accuses both defendants of failing to prepare the food properly, failing to inspect it, and failing to warn consumers. She seeks more than $50,000 in damages. Neither of the defendants has filed a defense.
Todd Sivia, an Edwardsville-based attorney representing Andre, told the Madison Record his client "went into the … restaurant and within several hours she began to get sick [after eating a tuna dish]."
Sivia added, "Nothing that she ate before that point of time could have caused her to get sick. The fish that was served caused the issue. We do not know much more than that."
The attorney suggested a national recall of tuna in April could be linked to Andre's illness. Sivia said he does not know if this was an isolated case and that he and his client will let doctors determine the cause of the colitis.
"It all depends on how it was prepared and whether frozen and not dethawed properly," Sivia said.