When we visit a public restaurant we expect that the food and drink we are served is going to be safe. It is why state and local governments has regulations on cleanliness. It is why states have regulations on the quality of food served at restaurants. It is why we have a federal department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA).

Unfortunately, despite OHSA rules regulating the use and disposal of cleaning products utilized in all public restaurants, my client was exposed to toxic chemicals in January of 2018.

In early January 2018, my client went for lunch at the Hooters restaurant located in Mishawaka Indiana. He ordered a beer. However, instead of the beer he ordered, he was served a glass full of toxic chemical cleaning fluid used by the beer line cleaning company: Indiana Beverage Inc.

Immediately after exposure, my client’s mouth and throat began to swell up and close. His mouth was burning. Despite the fact that the chemical’s material data safety sheet (MSD) sheet warned the chemical reacts strongly to the presence of water, staff at the restaurant gave my client a glass of water to wash out his mouth. Clearly, this did not help.

Did the Defendant’s employees call an ambulance for my client? No. Did defendant’s employees make any effort to make sure a customer, exposed to chemical toxins, whose throat was closing up, made it safely to the hospital? No. So we filed suit against Defendants.

As a result of Defendant’s failure to ensure the safety of my client (one of their customers) we filed a lawsuit in St Joseph Superior Court against Defendants: DW Restaurant Holder LLC (franchisee of the Hooters located on E. Day road); Hooters of America; and Indiana Beverage Inc. The complaint can be viewed here.