Hotel refuses to accept responsibility after man's wife with prawn allergy nearly dies from buffet

[Captor]

10 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

In a country where it can be considered impolite to say 'no' to a customer... 

 

She had to know she was taking a chance eating at a buffet... 

Will the name of the hotel go public or is the fear of the defarmation law to strong?

Edited May 16, 2022 by Captor

[Percy P]

36 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

There wasn't a prawn in her salad just the juice of a prawn. It looks like I am the only one who feels sorry for the lady? After living here for many years I learned not to trust what people say when eating out. One big lie they often tell is there is no MSG in your food, it's nly for Thai people??? They put it in everything.

Whats the problem wiith MSG

[sambum]

3 hours ago, kingkenny said:

I'm allergic to all shellfish, including  squid and octopus, thankfully mine just results in vomiting a few minutes after eating so not deadly, even then I'm so careful what I eat and unless I am 100% sure I won't eat it. Idvice from a waiter that's probably on a daily contract or filling in is not the person I would accept advice from as to ingredients. 

I have the same allergy to you, and the same reactions (vomiting a few minutes/couple of hours later) which was brought on in my mid 40's by oysters (which I had never eaten before) Now cockles,mussels etc are off my menu, but surprisingly I can eat prawns!

[sambum]

22 hours ago, vinci said:

they will put all the blame on the cook and waiter and call it a day 

"............staffer had "left their job" 

[SeaMike01]

Thais will sometimes answer 'yes' to everything. Even if they have no idea or don't understand what's being asked.

[StevieAus]

4 hours ago, bbko said:

She was given sugar?? ????

 

I know in the states, those with severe allergies carry a "Epipen", it's a self injected shot of epinephrine used in life saving emergencies just like the lady had, are they not available in Thailand?

I would have thought that with that sort of allergy you would carry one with you

Had a friend now deceased who had allergy to any type of prawns shell fish etc.

they travelled world wide but never without it.

[Pdavies99]

To me this appears a little suspicious....surely if the Lady has such a severe allergy she would always have an EpiPen?

 

Anyhow get well, This is Thailand! No care for others!

[Ralf001]

the hotel was a line contact ?

[kekalot]

a few years back had a lady that had an allergy to shellfish and asked from the cook here some pad thai (I think) and mentioned no shrimps.

 

pad thai came with those minuscule shrimps the size of the tip of your finger peppered around on it.

 

I returned it saying i said no shrimp and the cook said "it's just for taste!"

 

I got the same thing when I say I don't want krapow on my stuff, hate the taste "it's just for taste!"

 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

On 5/16/2022 at 12:01 PM, spidermike007 said:

It sounds like it might have been one of those funky Thai salads with dried prawn in it, and made with a sauce or dressing with dried prawns. Could have also been an oyster or fish sauce.

Doesn't appear to have been any of that, at all...

"However, she soon bit into a whole prawn, half of which she spat out immediately, half of which went down".

[The Hammer2021]

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

A young man in Britain died recently from a home delivery pizza -

Peanut allergy - he took  a risk on expensive junk food and paid  the price.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, happy me said:

They dont know what prawns look like????

The hotel & waiter?

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It sounds like it might have been one of those funky Thai salads with dried prawn in it, and made with a sauce or dressing with dried prawns. Could have also been an oyster or fish sauce. Anyone with an allergy to seafood, having been born here in Thailand should know better than to eat something like this. 

All those westerners with food allergies better look-out.

[RJRS1301]

4 hours ago, happy me said:

They dont know what prawns look like????

Fancy not carrying an EPiPen either , entry in the Darwins as a honourable try for stupidity

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

A young man in Britain died recently from a home delivery pizza -

Peanut allergy - he took  a risk on expensive junk food and paid  the price.

It was a ‘Chicken Tikka’ Pizza......    

 

Many Indian recipes include either ground Cashew nuts or Peanuts... 

Then there is ‘peanut oil’ itself which is very common in Indian cooking...

 

The 23 year old was rather silly considering he had a life threatening allergy, unless it was an allergy he never knew he had, which given the commonality of peanuts is somewhat unlikely. 

 

 

[SomchaiCNX]

44 minutes ago, Percy P said:

Whats the problem wiith MSG

Well some people are allergic to it and it is not healthy. I don't call myself allergic to it but notice after a short while that my food was contaminated even I requested no MSG.

[GrandPapillon]

4 hours ago, warrima said:

Ye really cant fix stupid. Trusting a waiter who would say anything just to move ye on. Then gulfing it down without confirming. Darwinism right there. 

yeah was going to say the same, why would you believe anything the clueless staff is saying when their default mode is to agree with anything you say just so they don't have to think about an answer ????

 

"does this salad has sea food?"

 

"No ploblem" ????

 

Edited May 16, 2022 by GrandPapillon

[RJRS1301]

My sister and I were dining one evening both of us ordered mud crab, both of us have eaten mud crab all our lives, within minutes of taking some crab my sister experienced an awful anaphylaxis, restricted breathing, swollen tongue and throat. Fortuitously, we administered first aid immediately,   (staff and me) another guest had an EpiPen, which we administered. 

So <deleted> off, so much drama, ruined a nice night out.

Ambulance arrived and all was well, transported to hospital.

I called the restaurant from the hospital and requested they put the crab in takeaway containers for me to devour later, which they did. Collected it later that night, had a nice lunch the next day. She no longer eats mud crab, however all other seafood ok.

Crazy part is one of her businesses is fishing boats and  mud crab licences  

 

 

 

[ChrisKC]

I don't think it is clear if the actual prawns were with their shell on as just about everywhere and in everything, as is the case here in Thailand. If this is true in the story, then I for one who is very sensitive to the shell, not from an allergy, but because it feels sharp in my mouth, would then take it out of my mouth before I chewed and ate into it.

 

If one is so sensitive, then extra vigilance is required and every precaution taken.

 

We don't know the precise truth of the matter as it relates to discussion involving guest and staff, but if there were to be legal proceedings, there would need to be proof of liability (negligence or lack of care and attention) by the hotel or for the the matter be considered an accident. (misadventure) 

[Leef]

Lots of victim blaming on this page - regardless of how careless she was it is still the hotels responsibilty and they should stump up the insurance fees at the very least - it is also the hotels responsibilty to properly train staff.  

[Thunglom]

two issues

firstly - should Thailand catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to "labelling" foods. Restaurants in UK and EU must show potentially allergic ingredients and display notices to that effect.

 

The second issue is the underlying culture in Thai business that the customers is ALWAYS to blame. This is slowly changing but the process for taking people to court etches so cumbersome and ineffective it is easy for companies to just deny everything as they know that a plaintiff will eventually lose heart and give up.

[spidermike007]

21 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Doesn't appear to have been any of that, at all...

"However, she soon bit into a whole prawn, half of which she spat out immediately, half of which went down".

Was she unconscious or in some sort of drug induced stupor? How does someone who has a deadly allergy to shrimp, chew off half a shrimp, without realizing it? Hello! Earth to shrimp woman. Where have you been? Why such a lack situational awareness?

[Thunglom]

PS - anyone who has every eaten any Thai food knows that draws are in almost everything  almost as a condiment - even a vegetable dish will have prawns in it. They also can vary in size from huge freshwater prawns with claws to tiny dried items used in Somtam and other dishes.

 

[Burma Bill]

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

didn't know what a prawn looks like?

Maybe she wasn't Chinese!!!

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The husband said that if the waiter had just said they didn't know or were not sure his wife would never have touched it.

Have you ever known a Thai admit that they don't know something. This idiotic 'saving face' thing could have cost a life. As others have said, though, how can she not have recognised that she was eating a prawn although, as one poster wrote, it might been one of those tiny dried things the Thais like, not a farang prawn cocktail type that we have - or did back in the 70s ???? 

[mrfill]

51 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

It was a ‘Chicken Tikka’ Pizza......    

 

Many Indian recipes include either ground Cashew nuts or Peanuts... 

Then there is ‘peanut oil’ itself which is very common in Indian cooking...

 

The 23 year old was rather silly considering he had a life threatening allergy, unless it was an allergy he never knew he had, which given the commonality of peanuts is somewhat unlikely. 

 

 

He knew he had anaphylaxis and had eaten from the Dadyal Pizza, Newcastle before but was unaware that the restaurant had just begun using peanut powder as one of the ingredients when making a chicken tikka masala pizza. The full facts won't be known until the inquest (set for October 19 2022) - some 3 years after the event.

[Gottfrid]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The hotel refused to have their insurance pay saying there was no legal requirement to display ingredients at a buffet and it was the customer's responsibility.

No, but there is a legal requirement that their staff do not lie to their customers, and the hotel is responsible for their staff.

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Have you ever known a Thai admit that they don't know something. This idiotic 'saving face' thing could have cost a life. As others have said, though, how can she not have recognised that she was eating a prawn although, as one poster wrote, it might been one of those tiny dried things the Thais like, not a farang prawn cocktail type that we have - or did back in the 70s ???? 

Which is why many wouldn’t trust the answer when a life threatening allergy is in the balance. 

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

No, but there is a legal requirement that their staff do not lie to their customers, and the hotel is responsible for their staff.

That’s a valid point… 

 

But is there a legal requirement or even a legal responsibility in Thailand for such ??? 
 

Then there is the definition of the staff outright lying & making a mistake.

 

While I would be angry at the hotel & it’s poorly trained staff, I can’t help but consider the lady herself is responsible, particularly if she had no emergency medication present. 

[phetpeter]

Sounds to me like a brake check, maybe they are from the USA, and believed that they could get a pay day out of this! sorry, this is Thailand, and everybody knows that some kind of fishy delight will be in most dishes. The hotel is right not to take the hook on this one. if fact, amazing the scene was not covered by cctv, plus no VDO's of the event of her suddenly falling into a coma, or the food popped into a plastic bags , so no evidence, and as stated a person with severe allegy problems not carrying an injector.......and her recovering so quickly. Next time they should choose the bus hitting her it might show some more interesting events!