Menu

Doctor Dies After Eating At Disney World Restaurant, Family Alleges in New Lawsuit

Disney Springs
Credit: Disney

According to a new lawsuit filed in the Ninth Circuit for Orange County, a 42-year-old doctor from New York died after she suffered an allergic reaction to the food she was served at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs. Her husband filed the lawsuit on her behalf late last week.

Ragland Irish Pub

Credit: Disney

According to the court filing, Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at NYU Langone in New York, traveled to Disney World with her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, and her mother-in-law, Jackie Piccolo. The three of them went to dinner at the Raglan Road Irish Pub.

When the waiter approached the table, both Tangsuan and her husband asked the waiter about food preparation and if the restaurant could accommodate her. She has a food allergy to dairy and nuts. 

The filing said:

KANOKPORN TANGSUAN’s waiter went to ask the chef whether certain foods could be made allergen free and then he returned to KANOKPORN TANGSUAN’s table and confirmed that they could. He also guaranteed KANOKPORN TANGSUAN and JEFFREY PICCOLO that RAGLAN ROAD would prepare allergen free food for KANOKPORN TANGSUAN.

[…] To be absolutely sure that allergen free food would be served, KANOKPORN TANGSUAN and JEFFREY PICCOLO questioned the waiter several more times to confirm the food KANOKPORN TANGSUAN was ordering was allergen free. The waiter unequivocally assured them that the food would be allergen free.

everything but water disney springs closed

Credit: D23

After receiving assurances from their waiter, the group proceeded to order dinner from the Disney restaurant. Tangsuan ordered vegan shepherd’s pie, onion rings, corn fritters, and scallops, but the lawsuit noted that none of the plates had food labels that would have made the servers aware of the allergens at the table.

After eating, Tangsuan and her mother-in-law went shopping at Disney Springs while her husband returned to the hotel. Less than an hour later, the pair separated, and Tangsuan went to Planet Hollywood. It was there that she suffered a “severe acute allergic reaction from the food served at Raglan Road.”

Tangsaun was able to administer herself epinephrine, but she was still having a severe reaction, and cast members called 911. When emergency services arrived, they were able to get her to the hospital; however, she was pronounced dead when she arrived.

Disney Springs

Disney Springs / Credit: Disney

According to the lawsuit:

The medical examiner’s investigation determined that KANOKPORN TANGSUAN’s cause of death was as a result of anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system.

The family seeks damages “in excess of $50,000.00 plus costs, post-judgment interest, and further demands trial by jury on all issues so triable.”

Walk-up dining Disney Springs

Credit: TK Bosacki/ Disney Fanatic

On its website, Walt Disney World says that it will accommodate any food allergy and that guests should speak directly to cast members to inform them of any allergies. The Disney World’s Website says:

Once you are at the restaurant, tell a Cast Member about your special dietary or allergy-friendly requests—even if you previously indicated it during the reservation process. You can do this when you check in at the podium or via the My Disney Experience app. This will help ensure our special diets processes can be followed when preparing your meal. While table-service restaurants will try to accommodate special dietary requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be able to meet all requests.

  • Ask to see an allergy-friendly menu, which may assist you in finding a meal. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, or if you simply have a question about a menu item or our process, Guests always have the opportunity to consult with a chef or special diets-trained Cast Member. Just ask any Cast Member at the location and they will find someone to assist you.

  • When placing your order, always tell your server if you have a special dietary request. Be sure to do this even if you select an allergy-friendly item from the restaurant’s standard menu.

The medical examiner ruled the death an accident. No trial date has been set.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.

About Rick

Rick is an avid Disney fan. He first went to Disney World in 1986 with his parents and has been hooked ever since. Rick is married to another Disney fan and is in the process of turning his two children into fans as well. When he is not creating new Disney adventures, he loves to watch the New York Yankees and hang out with his dog, Buster. In the fall, you will catch him cheering for his beloved NY Giants.

5 comments

  1. She went to Planet Hollywood on her own?! What did she eat there? From what I understand, food allergic reactions are immediate! Nothing to do with Raglan Road. Maybe nothing to do with an allergic reaction

  2. to the other commenter here, and anyone else wondering about the time scale, food allergies CAN take up to a couple hours to appear depending on the person. sometimes it’s more immediate but it can also take a bit. i do also wonder about her going to planet hollywood and whether or not she ate there but symptoms taking an hour is totally possible. don’t really see a reason to doubt that an allergic reaction was the cause of death if that’s what her autopsy showed

    (tv shows and movies tend to go for the dramatic instant reaction and that’s definitely a common thing too but …. i think it leads to this impression a bit)

  3. No, allergies to food are NOT immediate. They can occur hours later.

  4. I have to agree with Mari Bodie on this one how does anybody know it was the pub it could have been anywhere

  5. I do sympathize with the Family. Our Daughter has food allergies. Hey symptoms are immediate. I also question what she consumed after Her MIL left her ??? Nobody knows.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.