Family sues restaurant over Vibrio vulnificus contaminated oysters

Eating a plate of raw oysters was the cause of death.

The daughters of a woman whose death has been linked to eating raw oysters have sued Spondivits Seafood & Steaks. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Fulton County State Court by Stephanie Barnes and Erica Coston, contends that Spondivits was negligent in handling the oysters. It asks for unspecified damages. Spondivits did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.
Delphine Barnes, 52, had stopped in at the South Atlanta restaurant with a friend on Aug. 6, and shared a plate of raw oysters, according to the lawsuit. She died four days later of an illness triggered by Vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria found in the Gulf of Mexico in warm months that can concentrate in oysters and cause an often-fatal illness in people with damaged immune systems.
Barnes had anemia and some other health issues, but had eaten raw oysters many times without problems, said Craig Jones of Atlanta law firm Edmond & Jones, the daughters' attorney.
She had recently retired from the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, where she was a deputy. Her daughters also work for the sheriff's office.
Barnes experienced stomach pains, headaches and fatigue in the days after eating the oysters. On Aug. 10, she was too weak to get out of bed. An ambulance took her to South Fulton Medical Center and she died early that evening, a few hours after arriving at the hospital. "This lady wasn't in perfect health. She had problems that were perfectly manageable and she was 52 years old," Jones said.
She's a responsible person who lived by the rules, and this happens."

Source of Article: http://www.ajc.com/

Aporte de: Guillermo Figueroa