Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant (YouTube: The Altem Life screenshot)
A New York man is suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts after his 42-year-old wife, a doctor in Manhattan, ate at one of the company’s popular Florida restaurants and died a short while later. Jeffrey Piccolo on Thursday filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Orange County Circuit Court following the October 2023 death of Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan.
According to a copy of the complaint, reviewed by Law&Crime, Piccolo, his mother, and Tangsuan on the evening of Oct. 5, 2023, went to the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant in Disney Springs for dinner. The trio said they chose that location because both the restaurant and Disney made it clear to them that they had “proper safeguards to protect patrons” from food allergies, as Tangsuan was “highly allergic to dairy and nuts.”
“Raglan Road advertises and represents to the public that food allergies and/or the accommodation of persons with food allergies is a top priority and that patrons/guests may consult with a chef or special diets trained Cast Member before placing an order, and at all times material, Plaintiff relied upon these representations in selecting Disney Springs/Raglan Road for dinner,” the suit states.
Tangsuan had been a medical doctor at New York University Langone Hospital, one of the top ranked hospitals in the country.
After being seated, Tangsuan advised the server of her allergies and inquired about allergen-free menu options. The server spoke to the chef and confirmed her meal could be made in accordance with her allergy requirements.
“To be absolutely sure that allergen free food would be served, Kanokporn Tangsuan and Jeffrey Piccolo questioned the server several more times to confirm the food Kanokporn Tangsuan was ordering was allergen free,” the complaint states. “The server unequivocally assured them that the food would be allergen free.”
Tangsuan ordered scallops, vegan shepherd’s pie, and onion rings. However, when the server brought the food to the table, several of the items allegedly “did not have allergen free flags in them.” When questioned by he couple, the server “once again guaranteed the food being delivered to Tangsuan was allergen free,” the suit claims.
The family consumed their meals and at about 8 p.m., Tangsuan and her mother-in-law went shopping in the shops at Disney Springs while Piccolo went back to their hotel room with their leftover food.
Tangsuan at about 8:45 p.m. went into the Planet Hollywood store “while suffering from a severe acute allergic reaction to the food served at Raglan Road,” the suit states. A 911 call was placed within a minute and the dispatcher was advised that Tangsuan was suffering from a severe allergic reaction to food and had “self-administered an epi-pen.”
She was taken to a hospital where she later died, the lawsuit says.
According to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by Law&Crime, the medical examiner performed a series of tests and reviewed Tangsuan’s medical records before determining that she as “the result of anaphylaxis.” The manner of death was determined to be an accident. The report shows that she had “very high” levels of nut and dairy allergens in her system when she died.
Piccolo is seeking an undetermined amount of damages exceeding the sum of $50,000 based on claims that Disney and the restaurant were negligent and a “direct and proximate result” of such negligence was Tangsuan’s death.
Piccolo’s attorney, Brian Denney, told Florida Politics that one of the main goals of the lawsuit is to ensure such a thing does not happen again.
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