Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is in trouble because of one of its signature sides. A Texas woman has sued the restaurant claiming it served her red beans and rice plus a not so tasty ingredient — flesh-eating screwworms.
Karen Goode of San Antonio filed a lawsuit against the 45-year-old restaurant and its franchisee Z&H Foods for bodily injuries and complications as a result of ingesting rice and beans with New World screwworms.
Goode demands $1 million in damages for negligence of Popeyes, her pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of bodily functions, among other reasons.
“Plaintiff purchased rice and beans from Defendants’ restaurant that contained flesh-eating New World Screwworms, and Plaintiff unknowingly ingested the flesh eating screwworms. The flesh-eating screwworms entered Plaintiff’s digestive tract, laid eggs which embedded in the interior lining of Plaintiff’s small intestine, and when hatched, infested Plaintiff’s body and began to eat Plaintiff alive from the inside-out,” the lawsuit against Popeyes states.
Goode claims that the restaurant still served her the popular meal while knowing it contained the flesh-eating parasite and knowing it may cause the consumer injuries.
The court filing states that the customer has suffered E. coli and Helicobacter Pylori bacterial infection because of ingestion of screwworm-contaminated item. Goode also claims injury to her neck, shoulders and arm, and digestive tract.
Goode fell ill, could not work, and eventually lost her house, vehicles, and business, according to her lawyer Patrick Stolmeier.
Popeyes opted not to comment on the ongoing case.
What You Should Know About New World Screwworms
New World screwworm or Cochliomyia hominovorax is a parasite of warm-blooded animals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Infestations are possible in smaller animals such as cats, dogs, and birds but the greatest economic impact is on larger animals such as pigs, goats, sheep, deer, and cattle. Even humans are susceptible to infestation, often in the nose or sinus cavities,” USDA says.
If left untreated, the eggs will hatch and the maggots will consume the tissues and fluids of the host, which may eventually die because of secondary infections.
Infection with fly larvae in humans is called myiasis. This condition is not common in the United States. Humans can be infected by ingesting larvae, having sores or open wounds, or entrance of the organism via nose or ears.
Myiasis is treated by surgically removing the larvae.
Popeyes was established in 1972 and as of Dec. 2015 operates [PDF] 2,539 restaurants in the United States and other countries.
Popeyes Lawsuit by kens5 on Scribd
