Clay County man sues Hereford House after getting sick from eating at Leawood restaurant
A Clay County man who got sick after eating at the Hereford House in Leawood has sued the restaurant company, contending it was negligent and should be held liable for contaminated food served to customers.
The lawsuit comes after the Johnson County District Attorney charged a former Hereford House worker, 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson, with one felony count of unlawfully adulterating or contaminating food at the restaurant at 5001 Town Center Drive in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza.
According to court documents, Hanson allegedly posted videos online of himself urinating in food and rubbing food items on his genitals and buttocks. The crime allegedly occurred between March 26 and April 25.
The Hereford House, however, narrowed the time frame of the contamination to 12 days, roughly between April 6 and 23, based on Hanson’s statements to police.
Hanson allegedly estimated he had contaminated food in more than 20 incidents, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, the first stemming from the alleged crime, was filed late Thursday afternoon in Johnson County District Court against Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas Inc.
The Hereford House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday morning.
Chad Christopher brought the lawsuit, contending that Hereford House was negligent and breached an implied warranty that the food was safe to eat.
The lawsuit also contains a strict liability claim, which one of Christopher’s attorneys, Brad Honnold, described as a product liability claim.
“The focus is really on the product itself and on the tainted food,” Honnold said. “So by definition, when food is contaminated, it is a defective product.”
If the contaminated food causes harm to an individual who consumes it, then those individuals have a right to recover damages, Honnold said.
Christopher is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
Symptoms consistent with food poisoning
According to the suit, Christopher ate lunch at the Hereford House restaurant on April 3. Afterward, he began to feel ill with body aches, fever and vomiting overnight into Thursday. The symptoms were consistent with food poisoning.
Because of the illness, Christopher was unable to work the following day.
Christopher has suffered additional emotional and psychological distress since learning of the alleged contamination of food at the restaurant, the suit said.
Christopher “continues to experience anxiety and distress, including fear of future illness or medical harm, as a result of ingestion of contaminated food,” the lawsuit suit.
The lawsuit alleges that Hereford House was negligent in multiple ways, including failing to exercise appropriate care in hiring Hanson and performing proper background checks prior to allowing him to independently prepare food for customers.
The Hereford House also failed to appropriately monitor and supervise its kitchen, employees and food during preparation, and creating a kitchen environment in which ongoing and pervasive food contamination was possible, according to the petition.
The lawsuit also contends that Hereford House was obligated to provide safe and fit food; because the food was contaminated and unsafe, it was a breach of implied warranty. Christopher maintains that he is entitled to a refund because the food he purchased was not fit for its intended use.
Under the strict liability claim, the lawsuit contends that the contaminated food sold by Hereford House was “unsanitary, unsafe, defective and unreasonably dangerous” and that Christopher suffered “injury and damages, including pain, suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, loss of income, financial expense” and other damages.
