Salmonella poisoning led to 29 days in hospital: the hell this child went through after eating at this restaurant

Most people shrug off a case of Salmonella poisoning but if the bacteria that causes it gets out of the intestines, and the infection spreads, it can be life threatening. That was the case for a boy in the Kansas City-area who ended up spending 29 days in hospital and has suffered “severe and permanent injuries to his person,” according to a lawsuit filed by his mother.

Brittany Odum says that her son, who is now 14, became almost immediately sick after consuming food from a local hamburger joint, Tasty’s, in October 2020. Odum took the boy to hospital where it was confirmed that he had Salmonella poisoning, but his condition swiftly deteriorated leaving him on death’s doorstep.

Salmonella poisoning led to severe medical issues

Typical symptoms of Salmonella poisoning are stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting which the afflicted the then nine-year-old boy experienced prompting his mother to take him to Children’s Mercy Hospital reports the Kansas City Star.

However, the child then developed sepsis, which occurs when an infection enters the bloodstream, that caused multisystem organ failure. Because of that, doctors had to insert a breathing tube but he developed pulseless ventricular tachycardia, which the outlet explains is when the “heart was beating too fast to effectively pump blood.”

In order to keep Odum’s son alive medical staff had to perform CPR, which went on for eight minutes until they applied an electrical shock and his pulse finally returned. While he was out of immediate danger, the boy still required assistance to breathe and circulate his blood from machines.

Furthermore, the child “developed necrotic bone tissue and a bone infection,” reports the Kansas City Star based on the legal filings. After leaving hospital the boy needed therapy to be able to move around as well as perform daily activities in addition to continuing medical attention.

Odum is seeking restitution on behalf of her son

Odum is suing the parent company of Tasty’s on behalf of her son for “fair and reasonable damages” to provide for the “severe and permanent injuries” the child has suffered as well as the “pain and suffering of mind and body.” Likewise, she is seeking restitution for past and future medical expenses and compensation for possible lower future earning capacity caused by his injures.

Odum is basing her lawsuit on the allegation that the restaurant was negligent and served food that was not fit to be sold under Missouri laws nor that it was fit for human consumption.

The owner of Tasty’s, Mohammed Abualia, learned of the lawsuit when contacted by the Kansas City Star and had no comment at that time. He did inform the outlet that the restaurant in question has been closed since April when the lease was not renewed as the property’s owner wants to convert the location into a gas station.

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