Woman's gallbladder and stomach removed after she was served liquid nitrogen, lawsuit claims

A Florida woman is suing a hotel after she allegedly suffered serious injuries from liquid nitrogen that was poured into her drink, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Last Friday, an attorney for Stacey Wagers, 45, of Tampa, filed a lawsuit claiming that a waiter at the Don CeSar Hotel in St. Petersburg poured liquid nitrogen into Wagers's glass of water on Nov. 11, 2018. At the time, she was at a birthday dinner with a friend at the hotel's Maritana Grille, a seafood restaurant.

In her suit, Wagers said she and her friend had just finished eating when they saw the unidentified waiter pour the liquid into a dessert that made it "smoke." After the friend commented on how cool it was, the waiter then allegedly poured some of the liquid into their glasses of water.

"Within seconds, Plaintiff, STACEY WAGERS became ill and was permanently injured by what is now believed to have been liquid nitrogen," the suit said.

"She was unaware of what it was [and] thought it was safe, obviously, seeing it put on other people’s desserts," Adam Brum, Wagers's lawyer, further explained to the Times.

Wagers suffered chest pains and went to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with a perforated gastric ulcer. Doctors subsequently removed the damaged tissue from her stomach lining, along with her gallbladder. Following the procedure, Brum said his client lost 23 pounds.

"The Don CeSar is a world-famous hotel, where guests expect to have a safe and enjoyable experience, but Stacey Wagers’ birthday dinner there turned into a nightmare," Brum said. "As a young woman and mother, she will possibly experience pain and discomfort for the rest of her life. We believe this was entirely preventable had the restaurant not acted recklessly, and we will fight to hold them accountable and make sure it never happens to another guest."

Wagers's friend supposedly did not experience any effects from drinking the liquid, the lawyer added.

Wagers is currently seeking more than $15,000 in damages from Maryland-based Host Hotels & Resorts (which owns the hotel), the Don CeSar Hotel and the hotel's director of food and beverage.

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