A Michigan Wendy’s Is Facing Legal Action Over an 11-Year-Old’s Hospitalization
The child nearly died after eating at one of the fast food chain's Michigan locations.
Updated Dec. 11 2024, 2:27 p.m. ET
A family in Ottawa County is reeling after their 11-year-old daughter became deathly ill after eating a meal from a local Wendy's location.
The girl ended up in the hospital after her meal, where she nearly succumbed to an illness that the family's attorney says can be traced back to a Wendy's that was found to have unsanitary conditions.
The attorney alleges that local officials discovered additional issues within this location. Public health investigators reportedly cited the store for several problems just days after Aspen Lamfers ate there, prompting the facility to close its doors while it worked to fix the issues.
Keep reading to learn more about the Michigan Wendy's lawsuit, including how the girl is doing after her illness.
What happened at a Michigan Wendy's that sparked a lawsuit?
According to local NBC News affiliate Wood TV 8, Lamfers nearly died after an E. coli infection that became severe in 2022, causing hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a type of kidney disease.
A lawyer who represents the family in this legal matter, Tom Worsfold, told the publication that the kidney disease turned the formerly healthy tween into a shell of her former self, describing her month-long medical crisis in great detail.
"The infection continued to progress and attacked her pancreas and her brain," Worsfold said. "She had significant brain swelling suffering seizures while in the hospital. She had left-sided paralysis."
He went on to share how illness took its toll on the child, saying it was shocking that the girl even survived the ordeal.
Even with her miraculous recovery, the attorney says that Lamfers has a way to go before she's fully recovered and that she may be dealing with the side effects of the infection for an indeterminate amount of time. Lamfers' family told the publication that side effects of the infection include high blood pressure, diabetes, and even brain damage.
As such, they are seeking $20 million dollars in damages, which was spelled out in a lawsuit Worsfold filed on the family's behalf.
According to Wood TV 8, Meritage Hospitality Group didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the story, which included details about what public health officials found when they investigated the location where Lamfers reportedly ate the tainted food.
The news outlet shared that just four days after the Lamfers family ordered that fateful meal from Wendy's, the public health department cited the location for multiple issues, including dead pests around some of the food.
In addition to the bugs, the findings also noted spoiled and moldy food materials, food from the previous day's service that hadn't been put away, food that had been left on the floor of the establishment, and mold and water damage.
Wendy's has settled a class action lawsuit regarding employee data.
The Lamfers aren't the only ones who took Wendy's to court in 2024. Employees filed a class action lawsuit against the company, claiming that an Illinois location collected employee fingerprint data without following the proper regulations set forth by Illinois state law.
According to the Top Class Actions website, the company paid $18.2 million to resolve the case.
With the additional claims about being filed against the establishment — Marler Clark, the self-proclaimed "Food Safety Law Firm" says that 109 cases of E. coli were documented from the 2022 outbreak as of April 2024 — it's fair to assume that the fast food chain may once again find itself back in the courtroom.