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Doesn't this guy know that it's Burger King where you can "have it your way?"
A man in South Carolina has sued McDonald's after going into one of the establishments and ordering two hamburgers without cheese. Well, he got cheese on them, and it turns out he's allergic to cheese. He's suing for $10 million.
Now, the guy says he almost died (his medical bills were $700, which McDonald's said they would pay but they were turned down), and he's suing because of the reaction he had to the cheese and because his family "risked their lives" to rush him to the emergency room.
If you're wondering why he didn't see the cheese before he bit into the hamburger is because he ate it in a darkened room.
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8-13-2007 @8:14PM whardier said... I didn't think American Cheese was cheese at all, is he really allergic to dairy? And does American Cheese set off most dairy allergies?
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8-15-2007 @1:20PM Lydia said... A "cheese allergy" is really lactose intolerance, the symptoms of which include abdominal cramps, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea. Seems a steep price to pay for passing gas. Second, processed cheese products are primarily oil, not milk, so who are we kidding? In this case, it really seems like a group of opportunists decided to conspire against the fast-food chain so that he can move out of mom's house and compensate her for her trouble. Next time, he should check his food before he eats it -- and avoid fast food.
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8-13-2007 @9:02PM Mathi said... American cheese at least originally was made with the cuttings and remnants from turning big round cheeses into packaged block cheese for the supermarket. It is mostly 'real' cheese so it would set off dairy allergies.
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8-13-2007 @9:14PM calamari said... American cheese is made from milk and milk products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese
McDonald's is in the wrong for not getting an order right, but I'd also think someone with a life-threatening food allergy would be in the habit of checking for the most obvious and likely mistakes. It's not like fast food outlets ordinarily get orders *right.*
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8-13-2007 @9:55PM Trixie said... It's too bad that this guy didn't die from his "allergy" - to have the gall to sue a company such an exhorbent amount of money.... I understand the medical bills being covered, don't buy the family members "risking their lives", and especially the negligence on part of the customer NOT checking his own food. C'mon really? It's like the guy suing his dry cleaners for $50 mil... over a pair of pants, that were eventually found. People shouldn't expect their orders being correct from a fast food establishment.
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8-13-2007 @10:06PM Jill - GlossyVeneer said... My first thought was "Is it really cheese?" But another thing that is weird... hamburgers don't usually have cheese on them. So if he ordered a "hamburger without cheese" it is perfectly understandable if they were confused thinking he was specially ordering cheese. And $700 in medical bills hardly seems like totals that would indicate a near death hospital visit. And how did his family risk their lives taking him to the emergency room?
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8-14-2007 @12:32AM Brooke said... "So if he ordered a "hamburger without cheese" it is perfectly understandable if they were confused thinking he was specially ordering cheese."
I'm sorry, this makes no sense to me - if a hamburger comes without cheese by definition, asking for it specifically WITHOUT cheese might make you think that whoever orders it, does, in fact, want cheese? My husband is lactose intolerant, when I happen to order, say, a plain cheese steak sandwich for him, even though "plain" implies "no cheese", I always make sure that it is clear that no cheese or butter should be on that sandwich - I usually make fun of myself while doing that, but I'd rather look stupid than risk getting my husband sick (I actually don't think he does it when he orders for himself, but I am always extra careful).
Now, that said, my husband would NEVER take a bite of any food that could possibly be served with cheese without checking first that the cheese is, indeed, not there. Which is why I certainly agree that it's a frivolous lawsuit - it is amazing to me that people simply refuse to take responsibility for their own oversight (or stupidity, really). Whenever people do something really daft, they rush to blame somebody else for it. It must be wonderful to live in the world where everything that happens to you is somebody else's fault.
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8-14-2007 @12:41AM Peter said... The really sad part is that he probably will get a large out of court settlement. McDonald's will throw $250K at him just to make him go away.
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8-14-2007 @3:51AM Bob said... If he was in so much danger of dying that his family "risked their lives" rushing him to the hospital, he should have been transported by an ambulance. That's what they're paid for. This guy doesn't deserve the publicity.
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8-14-2007 @8:41AM Adam S said... It's embarassing for America as a whole to have to defend the fact that we permit abuse of the justice system for degenerate scammers like this.
If you were so allergic to cheese that a single slice could potentially kill you, don't you think you might, say, have a peek before wolfing it down in a "darkened room"?
This is an honest mistake. The guy should be jailed and tha attorney who agrees to represent him disbarred.
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8-14-2007 @9:16AM Misty said... The lawyer said the man "took five independent steps" to be sure the burger had no cheese. Except, apparently, the surest one - looking at it before taking a bite.
I'm not allergic to any food, but I still thoroughly check my drive-thru order before I leave the parking lot. If I WAS allergic, you'd better believe I'd look at my food before I ate it.
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8-14-2007 @9:36AM Richard said... He had ordered a BigMac, comes standard with cheese. The fool should have looked befor taking the first bite.
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8-14-2007 @9:44AM agent54 said... wow. that article was painful. not only did they not check that the food was what they ordered before leaving, their first reaction once he ate the deadly cheese was to call mcdonald's to complain? not 911? and why, if his allergy is so severe, does he not have an epi pen on him at all times?
i think my favorite part though, is that they are including "one count of intentional infliction of emotional distress" in the suit? intentional? right.
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8-14-2007 @11:34AM jsmylie said... Peter, a huge settlement is exactly what this guy is hoping for.
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8-14-2007 @10:10AM Kostika said... He ordered a Quarter Pounder, not a Big Mac.
Why shouldn't we expect things we order from a fast food place to be done correctly? I expect it of other places, so why not there too?
Yes the guy is taking advantage. No I don't think he's a scammer, I jsut think he's an idiot.
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8-14-2007 @10:53AM jschwartz805 said... Wouldn't he have tasted the cheese in his first bite?
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8-14-2007 @12:28PM thekevinmonster said... I have a non-life-threatening food allergy/insensitivity (gluten), so I'm getting a kick out of...
Wait. No I'm not. If you're going to die if you eat a peanut, or a slice of cheese, do you really think that every restaurant you go to should be held fully responsible for accidentally putting FoodItem on your meal?
Having a food allergy is like having a toddler. You just make sacrifices. I don't go to chinese restaurants and berate them to not put soy sauce in my food (contains wheat) or bread my general tso's chicken (contains wheat), getting angry at their inability to understand my problem and/or suing them when I feel crummy/get the craps/whatever.
The reason I'm saying I have a food sensitivity is that perhaps someone will think I'm callous for suggesting that people with seriously food sensitivities should not trust other people to make food for them. I'm not callous. If eating something can make you die, don't reach for 1-800-CALL-SAM (sam bernstein, local southeast michigan ambulance chaser) while sitting in mcdonald's. Make your own (healthier) meal that will be much more guaranteed to not kill you.
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8-14-2007 @1:51PM Richard said... I think I should sue too. I ordered a burger with cheese but did not discover until I had eaten it that there was no cheese on it. I get sick when my burger has no cheese on it. OMG, am I going to die or even worse live longer cause I might win 10 Mil from the King? Maybe the King, the clown, and Wendy plus a few others will dance at my wake. OH, wait, give me a break, I was just looking to get my 15 minutes of fame.
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8-14-2007 @2:08PM Blair said... He actually ordered a quarter pounder WITHOUT cheese, which is not a menu option, and would leave anyone behind the speaker to believe he said quarter pounder WITH cheese.
Did he do it intentionally to provoke a suit?
I'll leave that to the court, and your imagination, I for one find it highly suspicious.
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8-14-2007 @3:52PM Michael Schmitt said... If the man’s life is threatened by dairy or any dairy products, then he shouldn’t be buying products meant for the general public that are sold at establishments meant for the general public.
Last I looked into it, McDonalds does not bill itself as an allergen free zone or a restaurant that caters to those with dairy allergens or advertising that the restaurant takes special steps to sell hamburgers to people with life threatening allergies so they can come and eat there. The burgers WITH cheese are made right next to the burgers without. If the man TRULY needed a burger without cheese and McDonalds would be bold enough to take on the responsibility to make a burger without cheese because of medical reasons, then systems would have be in place to swab the area for allergens, resources would be set aside as “dairy allergen free”, people would be trained to make sure that they don’t cross contaminate allergens, and a special program set aside specific to those with dairy allergens wanting a hamburger.
But McDonalds doesn’t do that; they exist for general public’s consumption.
I find it unfortunate that this man had a medical episode that was life threatening, but I don’t understand how a man would walk into an establishment that has mostly teenagers behind the counter and behind the grill and put his life into the hands of people not trained for his medical condition.
It’s asinine.
And he’ll probably get a settlement.
*sigh*
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