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Subscribe to RSSSYDNEY - Fast-food chain KFC has been ordered to pay $8.3 million (AUS$8 million) in damages to the family of an Australian girl who was left severely brain damaged and in a wheelchair after being poisoned by a chicken meal.
In 2005, Monika Samaan, then aged seven, her parents and her brother were hospitalized with salmonella poisoning after eating a "Twister" chicken wrap at a KFC restaurant near Sydney.
KFC, owned by Kentucky-based Yum! Brands, said it was a tragic case but was "deeply disappointed and surprised by the decision" and would appeal against it.
It had denied being responsible for the girl’s illness, challenging her family's claims during a four-week trial.
Last week, a New South Wales Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of the family, saying KFC had breached its duty of care to the girl. On Friday, it awarded the family A$8 million in damages, as well as court costs.
Coma
Australian media quoted their lawyer, George Vlahakis, as saying the girl's illness had "exhausted the very limited resources of the family".
"The compensation ordered is very much needed," Vlahakis said.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that, during a four-week trial in 2010, Monika's father Amanwial Samaan said he and his wife Hanna, son Abanou and Monika all fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea after sharing the Twister.
Unlike Monika, who was in a coma for six months and in hospital for seven months, they recovered.
Monika took the court action through her father, the newspaper reported.
'Unsettling'
KFC's lawyer, Ian Barker, QC, argued during the trial that there "never was a shared Twister" because there was no sales data to prove the family purchased it.
"You did not tell anyone at the hospital, when you were there between October 27 and 29, that you had shared a KFC Twister that Monday," Barker said in court in July 2010.
However, it reported that the trial also heard of hygiene practices at the restaurant that the family’s barrister described as "disturbing and unsettling."
News site news.com.au reported that the girl’s grandmother had been the only member of the family not to have shared the Twister and was not taken ill.
Experts at Westmead Hospital found Monika, her parents and older brother had a common strain of salmonella in their stools, although Monika's case was very rare.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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O.K., first of the article isn't giving us all the facts as usual. The father says in other Australian news articles that he bought two chickens at another barbecue shop on 19 October 2010, 5 days prior to the illness, which is more than enough time for it to begin to exhibit symptoms. Secondly, the term 'a very rare case' is used, not 'a very rare strain'-get it right as those two phrases are not the same in medical terminology. A case refers to an instance of the disease and the symptoms exhibited, while the strain refers to the species of the virus or bacteria. What the article does say is that the strain of the bacteria was the same for all family members. And thirdly, there are many things about young children that would make an infection as serious as Salmonella more dangerous to them, such as smaller body size, less developed immune system, and not having a fully developed circulatory system. So basically, while they all had the same type of bacteria, the daughter happened to get much worse symptoms because she's a kid. And they could have gotten it somewhere else.
Beyond that, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest they are 'making it up', and none to suggest any of the other bizzarre, insensitive, inhumane, and callous ideas mentioned. Trust me on this, I'm training to be a firefighter and certified paramedic. I also have researched Salmonella many times, taken chef and food preparation courses, and know several medical doctors.
Stop eating that crappy, processed crap they call food.
Really fishy. A lot of things don't add up like how the family can't provide proof that they bought the twister in the first place or the fact that they didn't mention it to anyone until later on. But since a judge ruled on it - I think there is more to this story than the article is telling us. This article seems very misleading. There is absolutely no way that KFC would have to pay that much money if all the evidence that the family had was their word. Does not make any sense. I'll be looking further into this story.
I am drawn to the rather entertaining banter between J-DOGGIN and marklepew with all the graphs, figures, and formulas...Although I do tend to side somewhat with marklepew in that IF KFC is guilty in this case that they should pay @t least a couple million dollars not only for medical expenses, emotional suffering, etc., but also as a slap on the wrist to KFC to let them know that this is unacceptable. I guarantee that, once again, IF KFC is guilty here, that at least at this particular location, they will be held to the strictest of sanitary standards - which of course works out in the best interest of the consumer.
I am also amazed at the level of detail in which you two took to argue your points of view...very clear and concise....Good Job
concernedone: Its not voluntary if the judge orders you to pay.