Doctor Dies From Allergic Reaction After Raglan Road Meal at Disney Springs

[Disturbia]

Just as an FYI, my son reacted to (cow) dairy proteins when he was a baby. It wasn't an allergy but more like a severe intolerance. His intestinal lining would shed, and his diapers would be filled with this bloody mucous stuff. I didn't give him cow's milk as a baby, but he would get the cow's milk proteins through my milk. So, he was reacting to what I ate!

So, as his mother & milk producer, I had to stop eating and drinking dairy. I don't eat beef, but if I did, I would also have had to stop eating beef. They told me he would probably grow out of it, and he did. By the time he was about a year old, I could start incorporating low-protein (high fat) dairy products into my diet, and then by 18 months he was able to eat low protein (high fat) dairy products, too.

The only reason I'm saying that is to let you know that what you eat can impact your milk, so I wonder if he was reacting to that... your diet! It's kind of wild.... maybe you'll never really know if it was your actual milk, or if it was the dairy proteins you ate showing up in your milk.

He drank my milk without issues until 15 mos. We had him tested for allergies at 5 mos (his older sister has nut & seed allergies). At 5 months he was alread severely allergic to cashews and cows milk but not almonds and peanuts (we have to continue give him almond and peanuts so he doesn’t turn allergic). When he had blood work his levels were above 80 and have not come down. The Dr said he will most likely never outgrow this allergy (or cashews). Now that there is a medication maybe he might be ok to test out medication in the future. He is also allergic to eggs, sesame and kiwi but can have sunflower seeds.

The reason we know he’s now allergic to human milk is we tried a drop after his little sister was born 3 years later and he broke out in hives.

I truly believe it’s CRP in pregnancy caused by diet and stress. My normally elevated hs CRP (inflammation marker) went from 12 to 180 in pregnancy and went down to 25 with controlling sugars (should be less than 18 in pregnancy and less than 1 otherwise).

His little sister (now 4) has no food allergies but does have elevated IgA

Our DD14 has outgrown egg allergies (broke out in full body hives when she was 1 and Dr told us to start eggs; her levels were 3 so the level doesn’t dictate the reaction necessarily) but her nuts and seed allergies have gotten worse (were 60s and now 70+).

All 3 were c sections (first 2 emergency, 3rd scheduled due to polyhydraminos).

 

[Marrila]

The article does not specify how much time had elapsed between the time they left RR and she entered PH and collapsed. It could have been an hour or so. He was not aware she was missing. It states the MIL tried to call her multiple times at DS. When she got back they called again and this time someone picked up and told them to go to the hospital. It does not sound like they were just hanging out in the hotel as you originally wrote. They were from NYC so I am sure he did not expect that she would have difficulty navigating a shopping area and taking a resort bus back.

I'm sure the investigations will turn up the relevant facts. It is a sad story.

 

[HopperFan]

Disney should pay up IMHO. I think they should pay for more than the 50-70k that’s being asked. It would send a signal that they continue to take food allergies seriously. We’ve spent all of our yearly vacation dollars at Disney (we are not DVC or annual passholders) vs going to Hawaii or Mexico strictly because we feel safe. Accidents happen and we can’t stay locked in a box. So many kids have allergies and being a kid themed park they can’t just cut off families.

Absolutely not. This would open a pandora's box of frivolous lawsuits, above and beyond what they get hoping for automatic pay out.

This is not a clear cut situation where a company created an unsafe situation, a guest died and there is no question as to fault.

A FULL investigation will need to be made because the story in itself is questionable on so many levels. The actions by all involved are questionable. The result of the tox test is questionable. And they need to find out where she was at each point of her journey around Disney Springs and if she consumed anything else or possibly came in contact with something. Both the husband and the MIL need to be accounted for at all times, and why they left her alone and did not look for her. I would think it would be important to get her medical history and compare to autopsy results.

No one should jump to any conclusions. Just let the investigation take it's course and hope an answer is found for numerous reasons, but also future guests with allergies.

 

[mkatsy]

I agree, thats why you shouldn’t be making statements like “She most likely came in contact with the allergens very close to Planet Hollywood.” Without facts to back it up

It's a perfectly reasonable statement, and I took the time to go pull the references to show you why. "In general, the more prolonged the onset of anaphylactic symptoms, the less severe the overall reaction" (Sampson, 2000, p.928). Usually fatal anaphylaxis hits you fast, and it hits you hard. Let's use your son as our example. The time from his ingestion to symptoms was greater than one hour and you were able to resolve the situation on your own. Now let's look at children who had the opposite outcome with the same allergen. Nachshon & Katz (2012) reviewed the case studies of fatal anaphylaxis in children with milk allergy. All four children were in distress WITHIN MINUTES of the first bite.

fatal anaphylaxis only occurs approximately 125-150 times a year in the United States
approximately 26% of those are due to tree nut allergy.
the generally accepted window for tree nut anaphylaxis is 5-30 minutes.

because I can find no documented case of fatal tree nut anaphylaxis in the United Stated that was delayed >45 minutes after ingestion of the allergen, AND no warning symptoms were exhibited (runny nose, itchy mouth, tingling mouth, coughing), I believe it is more likely (the theoretical probability is greater) that she came in contact with the allergen much closer in time to when she collapsed in planet Hollywood.


References:
Baseggio Conrado A, Ierodiakonou D, Gowland M H, Boyle R J, Turner P J. Food anaphylaxis in the United Kingdom: analysis of national data, 1998-2018 BMJ 2021.

Hugh A Sampson, Food anaphylaxis, British Medical Bulletin, Volume 56, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 925–935.

Liat Nachshon, M. D., & Yitzhak Katz, M. D. (2012). Lessons from cases of mortality due to food allergy in Israel: cow’s milk protein should be considered a potentially fatal allergen. Age (yrs), 6(10), 16.

 

[georgina]

It is a very sad story, I hope someone who pays attention reports on the resolution of the case. Sounds to me like they may have a hard time proving it was definitely Raglan Road's food.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Especially since you can buy roasted/candied nuts at DS which could be in the air from someone else eating them.

 

[MrsDanielle]

My 8 y/o niece has severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, all dairy, shellfish, eggs, and a sensitivity to soy. Her peanut and tree nut allergy is so severe that she scored well over 100 for each allergen. This child had not once eaten out due to the severity of her issues. My mother makes all the her meals from scratch, including baking her bread.

I hope one day we’ll be able to take her to WDW, and that she could dine in a restaurant, but I have to say stories, like these make me hesitate to do so. I think we’d better book a dvc room with a full kitchen, bring our own kitchenware, and prepare all our meals in the room.

Better to be safe, right ?

 

[Disturbia]

Absolutely not. This would open a pandora's box of frivolous lawsuits, above and beyond what they get hoping for automatic pay out.

This is not a clear cut situation where a company created an unsafe situation, a guest died and there is no question as to fault.

A FULL investigation will need to be made because the story in itself is questionable on so many levels. The actions by all involved are questionable. The result of the tox test is questionable. And they need to find out where she was at each point of her journey around Disney Springs and if she consumed anything else or possibly came in contact with something. Both the husband and the MIL need to be accounted for at all times, and why they left her alone and did not look for her. I would think it would be important to get her medical history and compare to autopsy results.

No one should jump to any conclusions. Just let the investigation take its course and hope an answer is found for numerous reasons, but also future guests with allergies.

I should have qualified that statement with ‘if they are responsible.’

I don’t think the husband or mother in law leaving her alone are relevant facts. Even our teen separates from us occasionally at WDW to ride single rider.

Loss of life on WDW property does not look good from a business standpoint

 

[Disturbia]

My 8 y/o niece has severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, all dairy, shellfish, eggs, and a sensitivity to soy. Her peanut and tree nut allergy is so severe that she scored well over 100 for each allergen. This child had not once eaten out due to the severity of her issues. My mother makes all the her meals from scratch, including baking her bread.

I hope one day we’ll be able to take her to WDW, and that she could dine in a restaurant, but I have to say stories, like these make me hesitate to do so. I think we’d better book a dvc room with a full kitchen, bring our own kitchenware, and prepare all our meals in the room.

Better to be safe, right ?

We tried local restaurants first to slowly see what she can handle. Many years we chose to order garden grocers and eat in our room. That said there are people eating nuts in the parks so wipe her hands (or can use gloves).

 

[buzlite]

Disney should pay up IMHO. I think they should pay for more than the 50-70k that’s being asked. It would send a signal that they continue to take food allergies seriously. We’ve spent all of our yearly vacation dollars at Disney (we are not DVC or annual passholders) vs going to Hawaii or Mexico strictly because we feel safe. Accidents happen and we can’t stay locked in a box. So many kids have allergies and being a kid themed park they can’t just cut off families.

The common theme for these lawsuits in the public is always "who's fault is it". This leads to blame a corporate entity or the consumer.
In the end the corporation realizes their ability to create a 0 event safety system is almost impossible because you can't predict human error so instead they focus on protecting themselves from a legal pov.

These types of cases should lead to a small reasonable payout but also require the restaurant company to work with third parties to improve safety practices to help reduce these events from recurring. More likely is the ownership of the pub declares bankruptcy in case of a large payout and opens a new company under a different name and continues operating.

 

[pigletgirl]

Disney should pay up IMHO. I think they should pay for more than the 50-70k that’s being asked. It would send a signal that they continue to take food allergies seriously. We’ve spent all of our yearly vacation dollars at Disney (we are not DVC or annual passholders) vs going to Hawaii or Mexico strictly because we feel safe. Accidents happen and we can’t stay locked in a box. So many kids have allergies and being a kid themed park they can’t just cut off families.

RR isn't even owned by DIsney, is it? It's an incredibly sad story but I'm curious to see how this plays out.

 

[Disturbia]

RR isn't even owned by DIsney, is it? It's an incredibly sad story but I'm curious to see how this plays out.

She wouldn’t be there on her Disney vacation if it wasn’t on Disney property with staff trained to Disney standards with regards to food safety.

 

[Beer Me]

Regarding non-Disney operated restaurants in Disney springs - it was my understanding that they follow the same protocols as Disney restaurants for allergies. I could be wrong though.

One point of reference was a meal we had at the Boathouse 2 years ago. Our server was very chatty and was complaining to us about another table (doesn’t sound very professional but she was personable and funny) who had indicated they had allergies but were upset that they had to wait for the chef to come out and talk to them. Our server said something like “those are Disney rules and we can’t change them”.

Boathouse is definitely not Disney run but sounds like they agree to enact certain Disney policies. Then again maybe it’s not a uniform thing across all DS restaurants.

 

[kc51570]

Regarding non-Disney operated restaurants in Disney springs - it was my understanding that they follow the same protocols as Disney restaurants for allergies. I could be wrong though.

One point of reference was a meal we had at the Boathouse 2 years ago. Our server was very chatty and was complaining to us about another table (doesn’t sound very professional but she was personable and funny) who had indicated they had allergies but were upset that they had to wait for the chef to come out and talk to them. Our server said something like “those are Disney rules and we can’t change them”.

Boathouse is definitely not Disney run but sounds like they agree to enact certain Disney policies. Then again maybe it’s not a uniform thing across all DS restaurants.

Many of them do. You can book them through MDE and input your allergens. You can also pay using your magic band to charge to your room. Not to mention the advertising of them on the TV channels in your Disney room. We don’t pay as much attention to the ads since they got rid of Stacy (I think that was her name) and the must do Disney lists. It’s reasonable to think there is some sort of affiliation even if they are not owned by Disney based on all of those things.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

It's very obvious that many people commenting have zero first hand knowledge of severe food allergies. But as usual people like to comment on things they have no idea about. If you don't have food allergies or have a family member with food allergies that you have to be worried about and anxious for basically 24/7 then consider yourselves lucky and learn instead of just comment for the sake of comenting

 

[LaurenT]

I don’t understand. Does Disney own RR? Every time I’ve been with someone who had any kind of food sensitivity and we mentioned it in a Disney restaurant, the chef himself would come out to speak to us. If Disney isn’t running the restaurant, why are they included in the suit?

 

[Uncle Coaster]

It's very obvious that many people commenting have zero first hand knowledge of severe food allergies. But as usual people like to comment on things they have no idea about. If you don't have food allergies or have a family member with food allergies that you have to be worried about and anxious for basically 24/7 then consider yourselves lucky and learn instead of just comment for the sake of comenting

I have to say, I have learned a lot from this thread. Thank you to all of you who have spoken up about your experiences and best wishes to all who have to deal with this.

 

[georgina]

It's very obvious that many people commenting have zero first hand knowledge of severe food allergies. But as usual people like to comment on things they have no idea about. If you don't have food allergies or have a family member with food allergies that you have to be worried about and anxious for basically 24/7 then consider yourselves lucky and learn instead of just comment for the sake of comenting

This entire disboard is people commenting on things they don't know about. Threads go off topic, down rabbit holes, it's what we do.

 

[kc51570]

I don’t understand. Does Disney own RR? Every time I’ve been with someone who had any kind of food sensitivity and we mentioned it in a Disney restaurant, the chef himself would come out to speak to us. If Disney isn’t running the restaurant, why are they included in the suit?

They don’t own RR. I have also found that Disney chefs come out less and less since they created the allergy menus. We’ve outgrown some of the allergies in my family since but still have some. There have been some occasions where they don’t want to deviate from the allergy menu-like not wanting to put a piece of cheese on a burger because of a gluten intolerance or trying to force a gluten free roll for the person who has the daily allergy but not a gluten issue. I had to push on those occasions. They are trying to make it one size fits all for multiple allergies vs. the personalized customization and chef visits we received when we first started going.

 

[buzlite]

Having an allergy doesn’t make you an allergist or pathologist. In the end none of us know 90% of the facts of this case.
But because it’s the internet it becomes a war between those who feel their allergies aren’t taken serious enough and those who think people need to take more responsibility for their actions.
The law is complex and the technicalities in the case are usually very important. However these are likely too boring to discuss by lay people on forums. So instead everyone gets into an emotional rant.
So for everybody reading:
Yes your allergies should be taken seriously and you deserve the right to eat safely at restaurants.

Yes people are responsible for their actions and should always follow best practices when they have life threatening allergies.

This lawsuit will not change any of the above.