NYU doctor dies after dining at Disney World restaurant where waitstaff insisted food was allergen-free: lawsuit

Kennywood

Kennywood
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
A doctor from New York University died shortly after she ate at one of Disney’s restaurants in Florida — and her bereaved husband is blaming negligent staffers, according to a lawsuit.

Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at the prestigious NYU Langone hospital in Manhattan, died suddenly after having dinner at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs on Oct. 5.

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Her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, has filed a 19-page lawsuit in Orange County, Fla., circuit court, accusing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts of negligence, noting that Tangsuan had made it clear to the waitstaff that she had nut and dairy allergies.

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The staff at the pub insisted they were able to make allergen-free food, after Tangsuan checked multiple times, the suit said.

Tangsuan ordered broccoli and corn fritter, scallops and onion rings.

After dinner, Tangsuan left the restaurant to explore the shopping complex when she began feeling sick.

She entered Planet Hollywood, where she experienced severe difficulty breathing and collapsed.

Though an epi-pen was immediately administered to her, she ultimately died at a local hospital, the lawsuit said.

According to court papers, the medical examiner’s investigation revealed she died as a result of anaphylaxis due to “elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system.”

Court papers claimed that Disney advertises and makes it clear to the public that food allergies and/or the accommodation of persons with food allergies are a “top priority” at its parks and resorts

The suit alleged Disney “failed to educate, train and/or instruct its employees” to “make sure food indicated as allergen free or requested to be made allergen free, was in fact free of allergens.”

It also stated Disney had “control over the menu of food offered, the hiring and/or training of the wait staff, and the policies and procedures as it pertains to food allergies at Disney Springs restaurants.”

Piccolo is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 pursuant to Florida’s wrongful death act, in addition to mental pain and suffering, loss of income and funeral expenses.

Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source: https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/media...r-eating-dinner-at-disney-restaurant-lawsuit/
 


As a father of a daughter with a cashew allergy this absolutely terrifies me. We have felt so completely confident/safe when eating at Disney our past two trips.

I also knew immediately that Raglan Road is not a Disney restaurant. But this is reminder to us to maybe just stick to Disney restaurants.
 
The article does state who the owners are.
Not the headline, do you think the article would get this kind traction if it said:

NYU doctor dies after dining at Irish Pub where waitstaff insisted food was allergen-free: lawsuit​


The initial article I read, made no mention of who actual owned the restaraunt and they called the waitstaff disney employees. I know why they do it but it still drives me crazy.
 


As someone with food issues and celiac, I would never eat out at any restaurant if my risk of cross contamination or poor oversight and being served my allergen meant I would have a reaction so severe it could lead to my death. Most with allergies know what their reactions to being exposed to their allergen will trigger. If she has had anaphylaxis or a severe reaction previously (hence the epi pen), why would you risk eating out where you have zero control of what is being served to you. Yes, Disney and other restaurants try and do a decent job of preparing food for those with allergies, but its only as good as who is in the kitchen and follows or is trained in allergen protocol. Unless it's a whole food, it is difficult to trust packaging ingredients too anymore, as they get mis-labeled or do not note that the allergen could be present based on what else is made in the same factory. It is very sad that she lost her life, its hard to travel and have a food allergy, let alone one so severe.
 
Looks like they made a stealth edit after the initial publishing, that mention wasn't there at first.
I'm guessing that someone from Disney had a discussion with I'm about the headline and threatened a lawsuit if the article wasn't changed quickly!
 
Not the headline, do you think the article would get this kind traction if it said:

NYU doctor dies after dining at Irish Pub where waitstaff insisted food was allergen-free: lawsuit​


The initial article I read, made no mention of who actual owned the restaraunt and they called the waitstaff disney employees. I know why they do it but it still drives me crazy.
The article posted in this thread states who owns the restaurant. I can't speak for the article you read.

Your headline makes it sound like they were in Ireland.

Look, the reality of the situation is that more people care because it happened at WDW than if it happened in Smalltown USA. So of course there are more articles, and they are definitely not going to hide the fact it happened at WDW.

But why is that? It's because Disney is popular . Not nearly as popular as most of us fans think it is, but it is still a high profile company and a high profile location. It's the same as if you or I walk down the street vs. Taylor Swift or Tom Cruise.

A news outlet that posts pictures of you or I goes out of business.

But I don't understand why this bothers some of us fans. Disney has a lot of power and makes a lot of money because of their popularity. The negative attention comes with the territory. The alternative is nobody cares and I'll guarantee Disney does not want that.
 
I'm guessing that someone from Disney had a discussion with I'm about the headline and threatened a lawsuit if the article wasn't changed quickly!
Assuming this was the case, it usually has more to do with the news outlet rushing to get something out and valuing speed over the writing and editing process. Journalism isn't what it used to be. If it was wrong initially, chances are they fixed it before Disney's lawyers had a chance to do anything about it.

I can say that I happened to read this same NY Post article earlier in the day and it was correct at that point. But of course that does not mean it was correct upon first being published.

Either way, Disney is still in the headline and justifiably so. It is where it happened, and they are named in the lawsuit. Expecting any news outlet to not put that in the headline is not very realistic. Disney hardly needs our sympathy over it. With popularity comes attention. I'm sure Disney prefers popularity to the alternative.
 
As someone with food issues and celiac, I would never eat out at any restaurant if my risk of cross contamination or poor oversight and being served my allergen meant I would have a reaction so severe it could lead to my death. Most with allergies know what their reactions to being exposed to their allergen will trigger. If she has had anaphylaxis or a severe reaction previously (hence the epi pen), why would you risk eating out where you have zero control of what is being served to you. Yes, Disney and other restaurants try and do a decent job of preparing food for those with allergies, but it’s only as good as who is in the kitchen and follows or is trained in allergen protocol. Unless it's a whole food, it is difficult to trust packaging ingredients too anymore, as they get mis-labeled or do not note that the allergen could be present based on what else is made in the same factory. It is very sad that she lost her life, it’s hard to travel and have a food allergy, let alone one so severe.
Victim blaming at its finest. 🙄
 
Some of y’all really need to check yourselves commenting about what the victim should have done and about not associating with restaurant Disney instead of realizing that, perhaps the restaurants in Disney or associated on their property are not as allergen friendly as they claim; sick replies honestly.
 
Totally disagree, it’s about taking charge of your health and not leaving it up to chance if you have a life threatening allergy. Eating out with an allergy is always a gamble.
Right. Traffic should stop in a cross walk at a red light, but I’m not gonna chance it without looking because it’s my safety at stake if someone else is negligent.
 
While it must be incredibly frustrating to not be able to dine "normally", it does seem like a terrifying prospect to trust your life to busy restaurant staff. These aren't trained medical professionals who go to work everyday knowing that an error on their part could cost someone their life.
 
While it must be incredibly frustrating to not be able to dine "normally", it does seem like a terrifying prospect to trust your life to busy restaurant staff. These aren't trained medical professionals who go to work everyday knowing that an error on their part could cost someone their life.
I agree. We have several family members with allergies and it's always a challenge getting us all together at a restaurant that will be able to cater to everyone. But the worst that can happen if something slips through is a headache, a rash, or indigestion. I can't imagine having to live with a life-threatening allergen--there are so many things that can go wrong, even at a restaurant that is normally very attentive. Unless one is watching the entire cooking and serving process, you don't know if what you're about to eat could kill you. Sounds so incredibly tough.
 
The local news here in ORL , made a good point. She ate her meal then 90-120 minutes later she had a reaction. Most allergic reactions happen right away (with in 30 minutes at most). Her husband and mother in saw no issue with her before they went back to hotel.
She may have encountered something or someone in the shop at Disney springs.
 

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