The family of a man with a shellfish allergy who allegedly went into shock and died after being served contaminated pesto at a Las Vegas resort is suing the restaurant for wrongful death.
Abraham Kenneth Ezra Williams was on vacation with his family in April 2024 when he innocently ordered spaghetti with pesto at Cosmopolitan's Beauty & Essex.
He had informed the restaurant in advance that he was allergic to shellfish before ordering the food.
Traditional pesto does not contain shellfish, but some commercial brands may contain trace amounts of anchovies, sardines, tuna, and mussels.
Williams went into anaphylactic shock after taking just one bite. He reportedly ran to the bathroom, but Beauty and Essex staff did not act quickly to try to save his life, the lawsuit alleges.
He was removed from the restaurant by his friends, one of whom called 911.
“Employees of Defendants Cosmopolitan and/or Beauty & Essex erected a barricade around the decedent and refused to allow anyone to perform any life-saving treatment,” the complaint states. According to 8NewsNow.
When Community Ambulance and Clark County Fire Department paramedics arrived, they allegedly did not follow normal procedures for someone in anaphylactic shock, the department said.
Paramedics allegedly delayed administering medication, failed to properly monitor Williams' condition, and allowed his condition to deteriorate by the time he arrived at the hospital. 8NewsNow reported.
Williams' doctors performed a cricothyrotomy and cut his neck to open his airway. According to the complaint, she was unable to receive child care because her neck was severely swollen when she arrived.
He was placed on a ventilator, but was eventually taken off and died four days later.
The lawsuit requests a jury trial against the defendants and seeks general and special damages in excess of $15,000, as well as unspecified punitive damages.
Accidental death due to allergic reactions is not uncommon.
Most notable this year, a New York University doctor died at the Walt Disney World Resort after unknowingly consuming a meal that contained dairy and nuts to which he was allergic.
In early November, a 19-year-old college student in Wisconsin died after eating a bite of a gluten-free brownie that contained roasted peanut flour instead of wheat flour.
Another Texas college student died after suffering an allergic reaction on a first date at a restaurant that had recently added peanut sauce to one of her go-to safe dishes. However, they had not updated the menu to reflect the changes.
