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[NintendoGal]

Be gentle please, I don't make threads on GAF due to paranoia! ;D

Anyway, my husband and I ate at a restaurant and I shared everything but three items. He became violently ill, to the point of having me call 911 because his vision was fading. Having looked it up, it looks like he had botulism. He had double vision, fatigue, and was pale white when he was in the bathroom making stuff exit his body from both orifices. It wasn't pleasant, let's just put it that way.

Anyway, he thankfully recovered. We also have insurance, but the ER visit was $100. He called the restaurant and let them know the situation. All we wanted was a refund of our money and to have the medical expense paid for which was $100. They're refusing to cooperate and they say it wasn't their food that did it.

Now there was only one other couple in the restaurant that we saw and most everyone who was there was ordering sushi, whereas my husband went for the chicken teriyaki bento box which came with a few other things. No one else was ordering this (now I know why), but they say others were in the restaurant eating food just fine and not reporting anything, that's why they're claiming it wasn't their food. I'm damn certain it was because he had not eaten anything else that day and NEVER gets sick.

I know we can hire a lawyer, but we don't have that kind of money. I want to do something about this, but I don't know what other options I have.

Thoughts please?

 

[JetBlackPanda]

wow sorry to hear! my first thought was vigilante justice if they wont cooperate.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Proving food poisoning is pretty tough to ever do.

 

[ronito]

News agency.
Food. Botulism. Prime time material. That and the health inspector.

 

[Amory]

Mmm, tough. You could at least threaten legal action without actually hiring a lawyer. Maybe they'll just pay you to avoid the messiness?

 

[MassiveAttack]

Pretty simple. Tell the restaurant that unless they refund the $100 (or more), you'll run an ad in the local paper warning everyone of the posion they're serving.

News agency.
Food. Botulism. Prime time material. That and the health inspector.

This is the correct answer.

 

[Cep]

News agency.
Food. Botulism. Prime time material. That and the health inspector.

Listen to this man.

 

[Verano]

can't you call the food inspector to reinspect the livin shit out of that place?

 

[clav]

Which restaurant was this by any chance?

Do you have any friends who know lawyers?

Post a terrible review on yelp. 1-star it.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Your case sounds pretty weak, honestly, I'd just drop it. It's not worth going to all that trouble over $100.

 

[BattleMonkey]

can't you call the food inspector to reinspect the livin shit out of that place?

This is what a person should do, but OP is looking for compensation it seems.

 

[Solideliquid]

From google health:
Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria may enter the body through wounds, or they may live in improperly canned or preserved food.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually appear 8 - 36 hours after consuming contaminated food. There is NO fever with this infection.
In adults, symptoms may include:
Abdominal cramps
Breathing difficulty that may lead to respiratory failure
Difficulty swallowing and speaking
Double vision
Dry mouth
Nausea
Temporary lack of breathing
Vomiting
Weakness with paralysis (equal on both sides of the body)


What happened to your husband doesn't sound like botulism which is mostly a muscle paralysis issue. Sounds like acute food poisoning which can happen from old rice or mayonnaise.

 

[KratosKilla]

Is all of the work and lawyer fees worth the refund and $100 ER bill?

 

[wenis]

Pretty simple. Tell the restaurant that unless they refund the $100 (or more), you'll run an ad in the local paper warning everyone of the posion they're serving.



This is the correct answer.

This sounds like a good idea. Just start spamming the local papers and the internet with the story and see what happens.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

This sounds like a good idea. Just start spamming the local papers and the internet with the story and see what happens.

A libel lawsuit.

 

[SapientWolf]

I doubt that it was botulism. He would have ended up on a respirator. You will probably need a lawyer to get anything done. Even then, it's gonna be hard to prove anything unless you saved the food and sent it to a lab. That would cost more than $100. Right now they can just blow you off with no legal repercussions.

So I guess the best thing to do is bring them an important looking legal document and try to bluff your way into getting payment. Or threaten to report them to a health inspector and see if that makes them squirm. If they really do have a nasty kitchen they might give you hush money.

 

[KratosKilla]

can't you call the food inspector to reinspect the livin shit out of that place?

or do this.

 

[Canova]

For $100 and change?!? ....let it go

 

[NintendoGal]

From google health:
Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria may enter the body through wounds, or they may live in improperly canned or preserved food.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually appear 8 - 36 hours after consuming contaminated food. There is NO fever with this infection.
In adults, symptoms may include:
Abdominal cramps
Breathing difficulty that may lead to respiratory failure
Difficulty swallowing and speaking
Double vision
Dry mouth
Nausea
Temporary lack of breathing
Vomiting
Weakness with paralysis (equal on both sides of the body)

He had all of these symptoms while we pulled him out of the bathroom for the paramedics (911).

 

[Herpes Reasons]

yelp.com

make it known there.

 

[MassiveAttack]

You'll have absolutely no problem getting your money back if you threaten to report the restaurant to the local health inspector. They'll do anything to avoid an inspection, especially if they know they are not up to code.

 

[gcubed]

unfortunately food poisoning is terribly hard to prove. You need to make sure you have the receipt from the night you ate out, the healthcare bills and then you would need to contact an attorney to investigate if anyone else who ate there that night had any illness. If no one else reports an illness you are SOL. Same goes for a news agency, if you are the only complaint, you won't get anywhere

 

[Thai]

Be gentle please, I don't make threads on GAF due to paranoia! ;D

Anyway, my husband and I ate at a restaurant and I shared everything but three items. He became violently ill, to the point of having me call 911 because his vision was fading. Having looked it up, it looks like he had botulism. He had double vision, fatigue, and was pale white when he was in the bathroom making stuff exit his body from both orifices. It wasn't pleasant, let's just put it that way.

Anyway, he thankfully recovered. We also have insurance, but the ER visit was $100. He called the restaurant and let them know the situation. All we wanted was a refund of our money and to have the medical expense paid for which was $100. They're refusing to cooperate and they say it wasn't their food that did it.

Now there was only one other couple in the restaurant that we saw and most everyone who was there was ordering sushi, whereas my husband went for the chicken teriyaki bento box which came with a few other things. No one else was ordering this (now I know why), but they say others were in the restaurant eating food just fine and not reporting anything, that's why they're claiming it wasn't their food. I'm damn certain it was because he had not eaten anything else that day and NEVER gets sick.

I know we can hire a lawyer, but we don't have that kind of money. I want to do something about this, but I don't know what other options I have.

Thoughts please?

seriously though, name them and shame them

 

[Keyser Soze]

Shit Happens. Warn friends not to eat there, get over it, and move on with your lives.

Any legal stuff, of any kind, especially over something like this that could be deemed small, is unnecessary stress on both of you, that, in the long run, is worse than been sick for a few days.

 

[Vieo]

I don't know. Sounds more like an allergic reaction than food poisoning.

 

[SRG01]

#1. Call a lawyer

#2. Call a food inspector and tip them off

#3. How is this even botulism? The symptoms sound like typical food poisoning symptoms. Did the ER perform any tests on the stool and vomit at all?

Also: how long did it take for your husband to get sick? About a day? Less than that?

unfortunately food poisoning is terribly hard to prove. You need to make sure you have the receipt from the night you ate out, the healthcare bills and then you would need to contact an attorney to investigate if anyone else who ate there that night had any illness. If no one else reports an illness you are SOL. Same goes for a news agency, if you are the only complaint, you won't get anywhere

Actually, food poisoning is incredibly easy to prove considering the incubation time and the food that was ejected. But then again, I live in Canada.

 

[Epcott]

Just when I think I've seen it all on here, another "Dear Gaf" advice thread pops up and takes the cake.

If you do get a lawyer, aim higher than $100 and a refund.

 

[Akim]

hahaha 100 bucks...come on

 

[DrForester]

Wait you didn't have a fall guy planned beforehand?

 

[NintendoGal]

I know it seems petty, but it is more to get them to man up that they have issues. They're stating it's not their fault, which it clearly is.

My husband did a search the restaurant today and they have had some bad health inspections in the past and lately. Nothing red flag worthy, but nothing that great either.

The name of the restaurant in question is:

Kaihana Sushisaki in Des Moines, WA

So any of you folks living in WA, I HIGHLY recommend not eating there. I know we'll never be going back.

 

[MassiveAttack]

I know it seems petty, but it is more to get them to man up that they have issues. They're stating it's not their fault, which it clearly is.

My husband did a search the restaurant today and they have had some bad health inspections in the past and lately. Nothing red flag worthy, but nothing that great either.

The name of the restaurant in question is:

Kaihana Sushisaki in Des Moines, WA

So any of you folks living in WA, I HIGHLY recommend not eating there. I know we'll never be going back.

Here's the key to getting your money back.

 

[wenis]

A libel lawsuit.

Look, buddy. I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings. I'm well educated. Well versed. I know that situations like this- libel wise- they're very complex.

 

[NintendoGal]

Here's the key to getting your money back.

Except that when he called they seemed reluctant to believe him, even after he mentioned looking at their report on sanitary conditions.

 

[Solideliquid]

He had all of these symptoms while we pulled him out of the bathroom for the paramedics (911).

Again, with botulism it takes at least 8 hours according to google before symptoms are present so...

 

[chubigans]

This is a very, very tough thing to prove. As far as the restaurant is concerned, once you brought up medical expenses they probably went into shutdown mode. You're not going to get any help from them at this point.

I would absolutely file a complaint with your local health/safety department and tell them what happened, first of all. You could consider a small claims court filing. But honestly, your losses are minimal at this point and there's so much work ahead of you in getting any kind of money from them that you have to stop and ask yourself, is it worth the trouble? Blackmailing them in a sense with ads in the paper isn't a good idea either. Contacting the paper might work, if they're already in the process of getting a good foundation for a story to begin with.

So to summarize: file a complaint with the health/safety dept, maybe file a complaint with the BBB, contact your local paper and never go back again. But don't try to get any money out of it...sadly it's way, way way more trouble than it's possibly worth considering how much money your out right now.

Hope that helps!

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Having been in one of these situations, it's not about the money but about getting them to at least do something after having you go through hell on earth because they suck at their job.

Unfortunately in my case the owner was my cousin and he always invites me so I really didn't want to fuck him over with a call to health inspection. Never, ever, have I eaten his stew again tho. It's been 7 years since.

 

[Epcott]

Except that when he called they seemed reluctant to believe him, even after he mentioned looking at their report on sanitary conditions.

Get a copy of your doctor bill... circle date of ER admittance

Get copy of food receipt, circle date of dinner order...


Take two to the inspector

 

[Keyser Soze]

GAF should vote on UrbanSpoon

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/1/334062/restaurant/Seattle/Kaihana-Des-Moines

A small form of revenge

 

[Solideliquid]

This is a very, very tough thing to prove. As far as the restaurant is concerned, once you brought up medical expenses they probably went into shutdown mode. You're not going to get any help from them at this point.

I would absolutely file a complaint with your local health/safety department and tell them what happened, first of all. You could consider a small claims court filing. But honestly, your losses are minimal at this point and there's so much work ahead of you in getting any kind of money from them that you have to stop and ask yourself, is it worth the trouble? Blackmailing them in a sense with ads in the paper isn't a good idea either. Contacting the paper might work, if they're already in the process of getting a good foundation for a story to begin with.

So to summarize: file a complaint with the health/safety dept, maybe file a complaint with the BBB, contact your local paper and never go back again. But don't try to get any money out of it...sadly it's way, way way more trouble than it's possibly worth considering how much money your out right now.

Hope that helps!

You're probably going to want the records from the ED, especially the diagnosis if legal action is the way you want to go.

 

[NintendoGal]

Having been in one of these situations, it's not about the money but about getting them to at least do something after having you go through hell on earth because they suck at their job.

Unfortunately in my case the owner was my cousin and he always invites me so I really didn't want to fuck him over with a call to health inspection. Never, ever, have I eaten his stew again tho. It's been 7 years since.

YES! Someone who understands what I'm after. The money isn't a huge deal, but we figured it might get them to change their ways if it's costing them. Clearly they don't care though or they are going into shutdown mode as someone else suggested.

Again, with botulism it takes at least 8 hours according to google before symptoms are present so...

That's about how long it took. Not being a doctor or familiar with food poisoning, I read up on it as well and symptoms from any food poisoning can occur as early as 30 minutes. It's hard to say, but I lean in the direction of botulism because of all the symptoms he had. He's never had anything like this in his life and is not allergic to anything. I mean who knows, but that's just my thoughts from what I saw.

God the hospital visit sucked too, he was shaking, ice cold one minute, then hot as hell the next. He just kept going up and down on the symptoms scale. Was awful to watch.

 

[SapientWolf]

Here's the key to getting your money back.

The restaurant isn't going to give any money back because they would basically be admitting fault. They're going to do whatever it takes to protect their reputation.

If they can their own food it'll be a lot easier to make the botulism charge stick. That's how most people get it. Otherwise, it's probably best to just give them a negative review and move on.

 

[Instro]

Seems impossible to prove, especially when no one else got sick that night. Is it possible that he didnt wash his hands before eating maybe?

 

[NintendoGal]

Seems impossible to prove, especially when no one else got sick that night. Is it possible that he didnt wash his hands before eating maybe?

He's clean and used the chopsticks provided. We keep hand sanitizers with us to use (we're not neat freaks, but tend to avoid public restrooms).

 

[clav]

GAF should vote on UrbanSpoon

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/1/334062/restaurant/Seattle/Kaihana-Des-Moines

A small form of revenge

Here's yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kaihana-des-moines

 

[JBaird]

Step 1: Find some rats and let them loose in the restaurant secretly
Step 2: Walk in 30 minutes later and ask to talk to manager
Step 3: Point at rat
Step 4: Profit

 

[shintoki]

First off... A Web diagnosis. :lol

There isn't anything else that needs to be said. You are not a medical professional, nor have you contacted one it seems, and your entire claim is based off some symptoms from the web that told you he had whatever. You don't have any sort of legal case unless you wish to spend money. And more or less, the time has already passed.

About the only thing you can do is put them into an uncomfortable position and hope something comes from it.

 

[esquire]

I've had far worse food poisoning than that and I simply refused to eat at those places ever again. It sucks getting sick, but unless you die or are permanently disabled due to the food you ate, you don't have much legal recourse. Let it go. Don't ever eat there again.

 

[totowhoa]

Call the health inspectors and find somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who works at the news paper or t.v. station. I know my parents used to have very strong connections at the local newspaper (fam ended up in the paper a few times for this reason) when I was very young (8-12). A little later after we moved to a metropolitan area they also had connections with one of the big local t.v. news guys (never got on T.V. though ). If you really feel like you were wronged, then see if you can go nuts. Post something on facebook about looking for a friend of a friend in the local news biz or something :lol

Also: did the docs confirm anything at the hospital?

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Here's yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kaihana-des-moines

Don't be a bunch of assholes and spam bad reviews. If she had a bad experience, she can leave a bad review; but lynching some place none of you have ever been to because of a story you read on your internet machine is silly.

 

[dojokun]

Here's yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kaihana-des-moines

Sweet, let's all go on there and spam bad reviews.