KC burger joint's food hospitalized child, led to organ failure, lawsuit says
An Overland Park woman is suing the parent company of Tasty's, a Kansas City burger joint, saying food from the restaurant gave her son Salmonella poisoning, causing severe medical issues and leading to a lengthy hospitalization, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Brittany Odum's 14-year-old son, who is not named in the suit, had to be hospitalized for 29 days, according to the lawsuit.
Tasty's has not been open since April, according to owner Mohammed Abualia. He said the building's owner didn't want to renew Tasty's lease because he was thinking about opening a gas station instead.
Odum's son began experiencing stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting immediately after eating food from Tasty's in October 2020, according to the lawsuit. Odum brought her son, then 9 years old, to Children's Mercy Hospital, according to the suit.
Bloodwork revealed Odum's son had Salmonella in his system, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states the boy then developed Salmonella sepsis, which caused multisystem organ failure. Sepsis occurs when an infection spreads to the bloodstream, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The lawsuit states Odum's son had to be intubated, or given a breathing tube, because of his organ failure. After being intubated, Odum's son developed pulseless ventricular tachycardia, according to the suit. That means his heart was beating too fast to effectively pump blood, according to the National Institutes of Health.
This condition requires CPR, and the suit states Odum's son received CPR for eight minutes. However, he remained without a pulse until receiving an electrical shock, according to the lawsuit. The suit states after his pulse returned, he still needed mechanical help to breathe and circulate blood.
The suit also states Odum's son developed necrotic bone tissue and a bone infection.
Odum is seeking fair and reasonable damages on behalf of her son for the 'severe and permanent injuries to his person,' 'pain and suffering of mind and body' and past and future medical expenses.
After leaving the hospital, Odum's son needed physical and occupational therapy and constant medical attention, the suit states. The suit also claims Odum's son may have a lower future earning capacity because of his injures.
Odum and her son are seeking damages on three counts: breach of implied warranty of merchantability, breach of implied warranty of fitness for human consumption and negligence.
The merchantability count alleges the restaurant served food that was not fit to be sold under Missouri laws. The second count alleges the restaurant sold food that was not fit for human consumption. The suit states Odum's son relied on the restaurant's implied promise that its food was both fit to be sold and consumed.
The lawsuit's third count, negligence, states the restaurant harmed Odum's son by breaching its duty to 'exercise ordinary care in connection with the purchase, storage, handling and preparation of the food it served.'
Mohammed Abualia, owner of Tasty's, did not know about the lawsuit when contacted by The Star. He declined to comment.
Meyers Law Firm, which represents the Odum family, did not respond to The Star's requests for comment.
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