Man dies after eating crab meat dish at restaurant

LOVEJOY, Ga. --

A man with a shellfish allergy is dead after eating an entree with crab at a restaurant.

 

An autopsy Monday confirmed that 35-year-old Rodney Hawkins went into anaphylactic shock and died after eating the dish at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Lovejoy last week. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said Hawkins had ordered a chicken dish that contained no shellfish but was served another chicken dish that contained crab.

But Rick Johnson, spokesman for the Marvyille, Tenn.-based Ruby Tuesday company, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the server's order pad and the kitchen ticket indicate that Hawkins ordered the Chicken Oscar, a dish with crab meat. Johnson called the situation "tragic" and expressed condolences for Hawkins' family.

 

Here's another report:

 

Rodney "Krook" Hawkins' wife disputes the Maryville, Tenn.-based chain's account, saying -- through a family representative -- that her husband did not order the Chicken Oscar entree, which contains crab meat. Linda Hawkins accompanied her husband to the restaurant.

"She hopes that Ruby Tuesday accepts responsibility and does whatever is necessary to see that this doesn't happen again," said Chicago attorney Joseph Leonardi, speaking on behalf of the Hawkins family.

Hawkins, 35, collapsed and went into anaphylactic shock Thursday night soon after consuming the shellfish at the Ruby Tuesday on Tara Boulevard, according to an autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The welder and aspiring rapper was rushed to Southern Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead a half hour later.

Investigators have suggested a mix-up in the dinner order, but won't file any criminal charges.

"He had ordered the Chicken Fresco and the Chicken Oscar was brought out by mistake," said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.

Ruby Tuesday said its own review revealed no such error.

"Our investigation of this incident, which includes interviews with the server and manager on duty and the collection of their written notes of what occurred, clearly indicates that the guest ordered Chicken Oscar, a dish that contains crab meat," Rick Johnson, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement sent to the AJC on Tuesday.

"The server's order pad and the ticket to the kitchen also verify the accuracy of the order."

The two dishes, restaurant officials point out, differ significantly in appearance. Chicken Fresco is topped with a tomato slice and chopped green herbs, while Chicken Oscar has crab meat and asparagus spears.

"She [the server] is very clear that he repeated more than one time that Chicken Oscar was his choice," said Johnson, whose company has more than 25 metro Atlanta locations. "We don't believe there was any confusion on her part. Had he been confused . . . when the dish was brought to the table it would be been clearly visible to him that it had crab meat on it."

Virginia Hawkins said in a phone interview from her Momence, Ill., home that her brother was allergic to shellfish since childhood. She said he moved from Illinois to metro Atlanta to pursue a rap music career.

Anaphylaxis occurs when a trigger activates immune cells, which then release large amounts of multiple substances, including histamine, into the bloodstream, according to UpToDate.com, an online community for physicians. An estimated 500 to 1,000 people die annually from severe cases.

 

Either way, if he was that allergic, where was his epipen?   My son has a food allergy (nuts) and even though I ask about dishes, check his food over when it comes, etc, I still ALWAYS have an epipen with me in case.    You just never know, and I'm not going to gamble with my kid's life.

So, did the waitress make an error in placing the order, or did the man really order the dish with chicken and crab?  I'm really sorry that he died but I'm sure this is not the last we will hear of this - I feel this will wind up being a big court case -

 

If I knew I was that allergic to seafood, I don't think  I would even eat in a restaurant that served it.

 

 

JMartinelli - I so agree about the meds - one TV reporter said he asked the waitress if she had any Benadryl.  When my kids were young I always carried meds for insect stings because they were so allergic.

 

 

Does anybody honestly believe someone would order a dish that could kill him?  Just because the server CLAIMS she did not do anything wrong doesn't make it so.  Just because she wrote Oscar instead of Fresco doesn't mean squat.  When somebody repeats something often enough, especially in a noisy environment, you might not hear exactly what is being said or repeated back to you.  I wasn't there and I'm sure her manager wasn't over her shoulder verifying she was writing what was being said.  It boils down to her word against the customers word.

 

Kim

Kim, I hate to say, but yep, I do believe people would.   About 10 years ago,  a woman ordered a dish at Bertucci's, had an allergic reaction and then tried to blame the company because she didn't know what pignoli were... 


But either way, I'm not placing blame.  I have definitely not gotten what I've ordered in a restaurant before.   Like I said though, where was his epipen?     

Janenail, exactly, I carry that thing everywhere AND benedryl too.    It's just something I'd rather have and never use than need to use and not have.  

The only reason I say that about the waitress is I recently went to McDonald's (I know not a fine restaraunt like Ruby Tuesdays) and orderd two kids meal.  This was EXACTLY my words:  I need one hamburger kids meal for a boy with no onions and extra pickles, apple dippers and a Sprite.  The order taker asked if there was anything else and I said Yes, a second hamburger kids meal for a girl with NO pickles and NO onions, apple dippers and a Dr. Pepper.  The person taking my order repeated back EXACTLY what I said.  The screen even showed what I said.  Yet when my food came there was extra pickles on BOTH and french fries (don't like them right now) in BOTH.  The ticket they gave me showed she punched in EXTRA pickles for the second one.  I am assuming she did it after I confirmed my order.  I do not eat pickles because of the seeds.  I have diverticulosis and am recovering from a bout of diverticulitis.  The kitchen, of course followed the order ticket which clearly showed two identical burgers.    I went in and complained to the manager.  I pointed out that not all people say leave stuff off because they are picky.  Some people do it due to dietary restrictions.

 

Kim

How sad!  I hope the family can overcome this loss.  Sounds like it must have been a pretty severe allergy.  I too am curious why they didn't have a epi pen.  Not saying it was the man's fault, my question is merely that of curiousity.   Unraveling this to see who was at fault will likely have to wait until the case hits the court, which I'm sure it will.

Very odd that a person who knows he has a deadly allergy does not travel with an epi-pen. Part of the responsibility for the mistake is the patrons,restaurants cannot be aware of food allergies unless told by patron. My brother is highly allergic to shellfish,penicillin and bee stings and has always carried epi-pen or before their advent a syringe with epinephrine. Has saved his life many times. What ever happened to medialert bracelets or necklaces?

Postscript: I have had this dish at their restaurant and it is very evident that there is seafood in it just by looking at it and smell.

I see money money money come to Mrs Hawkins.  God said it was time and made it so.  I don't know why people think sueing will make it right.  It doesn't bring the person back.  So they really don't care and just want to make money from the accident. 

Peanut5710_va:

I see money money money come to Mrs Hawkins.  God said it was time and made it so.  I don't know why people think sueing will make it right.  It doesn't bring the person back.  So they really don't care and just want to make money from the accident. 

 

 I wonder if sometimes it's just a way to focus away from grief.  It can be easier to focus anger and a person or an entity, than it is to deal with one's hurt.  Simply speculating....

Wow!  Some strong opinions/accusations here.  So here are mine.

--A waitress in a noisy restaurant can hear the order wrong even if it's said several times.  Why was it said several times?  Perhaps because it was so noisy in there that she was having trouble hearing it?

--A person could order exactly the thing he's trying to avoid, if he was more fixated on the name of the dangerous one than the name of the safe one.  Don't say Oscar, don't say Oscar.  What do you want? Oscar.

--A person who has been successfully avoiding shellfish all his life could fail to recognize chunks of it in his sauce.

--A person could forget his epipen.

--That a person sues absolutely does not mean she "doesn't care and just wants to make money".  A lawsuit triggers a deeper investigation of what happened, potentially saving other lives.  And a financial settlement doesn't bring the person back but can help the bereaved family put their lives back together.

 

I agree with Lady Fingers.

However -- if I had a potentially fatal allergy to any type of food product, I would not consume food prepared in a restaurant kitchen.

Mel