Wendy’s burger left woman hospitalized and with long-term health issues, lawsuit says

A customer is suing Wendy’s after she says eating a double cheeseburger at a Louisiana franchise left her hospitalized for a month and with long-term health issues, according to court documents filed March 29.

The cheeseburger contained a “preformed toxin” that gave her a foodborne contamination, the lawsuit says. The burger was contaminated due to “improper food maintenance such as poor handwashing procedures,” the lawsuit says.

Wendy’s did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Jena Vogt ordered a medium combo double cheeseburger at a Wendy’s in St. Rose, Louisiana, on July 27, according to the lawsuit.

“Within (24) hours of consuming the Wendy’s double cheeseburger, Mrs. Vogt felt nauseous and began to have gastrointestinal abnormalities,” the lawsuit says.

Once she started experiencing symptoms on July 28, she was taken to a hospital by ambulance, according to the complaint.

She was diagnosed with a “myriad” of issues including “E.coli, acute GI bleeding, septic shock, cerebral hemorrhage and severe sepsis,” the complaint says.

Vogt spent a month in the intensive care unit, where she was treated for “several serious medical conditions,” the complaint says. She was transferred to another hospital on Aug. 31 and released for home care on Sept. 28, the lawsuit says.

As a result of eating the cheeseburger, Vogt suffered “severe injuries,” “past and future discomfort and physical impairment” and “mental pain and suffering,” the lawsuit says. She’s also incurred “past and future medical expenses” and “past and future lost opportunity for income and loss of enjoyment of life,” the lawsuit says.

Vogt’s husband, Michael Vogt, has also suffered as a result of his wife’s illness, according to the lawsuit. He has been her primary caretaker and has “endured changes in their marital relationship including a loss of consortium,” the lawsuit says.

Wendy’s was negligent in sourcing food served at its St. Rose, Louisiana, franchise, failed to maintain safe food supply chain practices, did not properly prepare and inspect the food served and failed to ensure the food served was properly prepared, washed and uncontaminated, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 for Michael and Jena Vogt.

This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Wendy’s burger left woman hospitalized and with long-term health issues, lawsuit says."