American Airlines and several others have been named as respondents in federal court after a passenger on the flight allegedly suffered food poisoning.
The complaint was filed on May 5 by plaintiff Todd S. Diener in the U.S. District Court for central California. Other defendants in the suit include Gate Gourmet Inc., Gate Group, Sky Chefs Inc., LSG Sky Chefs and LSG Group.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was a passenger on an American Airlines flight operated and catered by the defendants from New York to Los Angeles on May 11, 2019. While on the flight, the plaintiff was served chicken and other food prepared by the defendants.
Diener says that he began to feel ill after landing in Los Angeles and experienced the symptoms of food poisoning including fever, chills, fatigue, nausea and diarrhea. A few days later, the plaintiff visited an urgent care center where he was determined to be too ill to treat and sent to an emergency room. He was then diagnosed with campylobacter infection, a food-borne illness, from the food he consumed from the defendants.
The defendants are charged with strict product liability, breach of warranty, negligence and common carrier liability. The plaintiff requests at least $75,000 in damages and is represented by Carpenter, Zuckerman and Rowley.