Ohio residents with peanut allergies understand how important it is to pay attention to food labels, and inform restaurants and those who prepare meals of that allergy. Ingesting peanuts or a peanut by-product can sometimes be fatal for those who are allergic. Sadly, one couple is familiar with the severity of a peanut allergy reaction, after the death of their 13-year-old daughter.
The parents filed a wrongful death suit on April 18 against the City of Sacramento, after their daughter died from eating a Rice Krispies Treat while the family was vacationing at Camp Sacramento on July 26. According to reports, the family had informed camp officials about their daughter's peanut allergy multiple times, both in person and in writing. Despite the warning, officials allowed the girl to eat the treat, which contained peanut butter. Allegedly, the peanut butter had been added to a marshmallow mixture, and was very difficult to detect.
The girl realized she had eaten something with peanuts in it and informed her parents. The girl's father injected her with an EpiPen, which contains epinephrine to stop allergic reactions. The first dose was unsuccessful, so the father gave the girl another dose. The father got a third EpiPen from a medicine cabinet at the facility, but that one did not work either. The girl died from anaphylactic shock.
Family members of victims often file wrongful death lawsuits in an effort to receive compensation for damages, like funeral costs and lost wages. The parents in this case are filing the lawsuit as more of an educational tool, in hopes it will help others become more aware that certain allergies can turn deadly if proper precautions are not taken, or are violated. Public entities must be held responsible for negligent actions, and perhaps this lawsuit will help prevent allergen deaths in the future.
Source: The Sacramento Bee, "Family sues city after girl's peanut-allergy death at Camp Sacramento," Andy Furillo, April 20, 2014
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