This Single Wendy's Meal Has Landed The Chain In An Over-$50k Lawsuit

Those iconic square burgers from Wendy's have recently gotten the fast food chain in hot water. A customer in Chicago, Roxie Ellis Douglas, is slapping the company with a lawsuit after alleging that they became ill from eating one of the restaurant's double cheeseburgers and a baked potato. The 68-year-old woman claims her meal was tainted with Campylobacter, a bacterium that can cause foodborne illness.

Douglas insists that the meal, delivered to her home by DoorDash, was responsible for her contracting an intestinal infection, acute infectious colitis, gastroenteritis, and other medical complications. Medical bills stemming from her plight have reached roughly $93,000 from hospital visits and care to treat the infection. Douglas is suing the fast food chain for damages to the tune of more than $50,000.

The plaintiff is claiming that Wendy's failed to properly check the cleanliness of its kitchen at the store located at 8645 S. Stony Island Ave. and didn't follow basic food safety protocols when storing its ingredients. She also asserts that the restaurant had the responsibility to notify her that the food could be dangerous. The restaurant chain — which pulled the plug on hundreds of locations this year — has been fairly quiet regarding the incident. As of this writing, it has not put out an official statement addressing the issue.

People are used to seeing bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli as the familiar culprits behind major food recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks. Yet, according to the USDA, Campylobacter is the second leading cause of reported foodborne illnesses. Campylobacteriosis, the infection caused by the bacteria, is typically contracted from eating undercooked or raw meat or drinking unpasteurized milk.

Common symptoms include the usual suspects, such as fever, cramps, and diarrhea, which in some severe cases needs to be treated with antibiotics. However, more serious complications can consist of urinary tract infections and meningitis, and there is an off-chance it can cause a form of paralysis called Guillain-Barre syndrome. In rare cases, Campylobacteriosis can also be lethal. The USDA indicates that roughly 124 people die from the infection every year.

Wendy's has been tight-lipped about the lawsuit thus far. However, it did request that the case be decided by a jury. It also asked that the venue for the court proceedings be moved from the Circuit Court in Cook County to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.