BELLEVILLE – A woman is suing the Wing China restaurant in Belleville, claiming that she had an allergic reaction to shrimp in her fried rice after notifying the restaurant that she had a shellfish allergy.
Plaintiff Tiara Harris filed the lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Wing China, Inc., citing negligence
According to the lawsuit, Harris and her husband were regular customers of the Wing China restaurant, and the restaurant was aware that Harris had a shellfish allergy.
Harris states that on June 22, 2022, she ordered takeout from Wing China. She ordered the House Special Fried Rice and requested that the restaurant prepare it without shrimp, a request that was reflected in the receipt for the order. She also ordered chicken wings. Her husband ordered the fried rice with shrimp. When she received her order, she took the fried rice packaged with the chicken wings and began to eat it. After a few bites, she realized that her order of rice had pieces of shrimp in it. Upon examination, her husband's fried rice also had shrimp in it. A new employee at the Wing China restaurant had allegedly put shrimp in both orders of fried rice by mistake.
The plaintiff states that shortly thereafter, she began to have an allergic reaction. She says that when she went to the restroom, she fainted and hit her head. She was later admitted to the hospital and states that while she was there, she again fainted and hit her head.
Harris claims that as a result of her falls, she was diagnosed with post-concussive headaches.
According to the lawsuit, the defendant was negligent in its failure to properly supervise its employees to prevent cross-contamination of a dish.
Harris claims she has sustained injuries, which have caused her to experience pain and will impact her ability to attend her normal duties and earn income. She adds that she has incurred medical expenses and will continue to require the services of medical staff to recover.
The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and any other relief the court deems proper. She is represented in this case by attorney Bart Torvik of Oft law, PLLC and Lindsay C. Lien of Nicolet Law Offices, S.C.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0800