Bugs in lettuce wraps??

[jbehr12]

But they still took photo's and then claim they ate the lettuce. What is wrong with that picture?

Once again, if they see bugs, why didn't they tell the CM in the lounge instead? Send it back, tell a CM, something. A reasonable person just doesn't wolf it down and if they were that hungry, why bother to take photo's first?

This still smells badly and it's not the bugs in the lettuce. Sure, Disney CM's in the kitchen should have seen this and not served it but things do happen. My son is in the restaurant industry. Yes, things like this happen occasionally, like someone else said, it's not unique to Disney.

They probably did tell someone? I’m not sure where you’re seeing it explicitly stated that they did not tell anyone. And you take photos because if you don’t, nobody will believe you. Case in point.

 

[Hikergirl]

I think a lot of people here are spinning the story still, bugs in lettuce can be hard to see unless you’re looking for them. I don’t find it unreasonable that bugs made it into the lettuce on the buffet line, one unlucky family got the head of lettuce that was not washed properly, and got half way through before they noticed. From there they probably took a couple pictures and then told the concierge who took back the whole batch to the kitchen and tried to sweep it under the rug.

Previous posts in this thread are asking why the people would keep eating with the bugs in their lettuce, when it doesn’t say they ever did that in the lawsuit. It sounds like some posts here are implying it’s the guests fault for not having the “personal responsibility” to choose lettuce that is bug free. That’s absurd.

Even if there is over exaggeration in terms of the food poisoning, the rest of the story seems reasonable to me, and I feel terrible for the family who had to experience it if there is even an ounce of truth to it.

I think a lawsuit for over $15K for finding some bugs on your lettuce is way over the top.
Even if the people didn't notice them and ate some.
However, they aren't hard to notice in that picture so I find it hard to believe that a person eating a lettuce wrap wouldn't have noticed them when they were holding said wrap in their hands and bringing it towards their face. And that is after loading their own plates with that same lettuce. And this was 4 people who didn't notice?
It isn't uncommon to find things in your food, sometimes stuff happens. I've found a slug in my lettuce once, and one of those huge crane bug in my salad.
Most people that find things complain, get a replacement meal. and maybe get their meal comped and go on their merry way. They don't sue for thousands of dollars for suffering “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” as well as loss of earnings.
So while I don't hold the family responsible for the fact that bugs were found in their lettuce, I do find them responsible for "playing" up a story that they somehow suffered tremendously after consuming the bugs that are clearly visible on their food. All the had to do was open their eyes and shut their mouths.

 

[Moliphino]

I think a lawsuit for over $15K for finding some bugs on your lettuce is way over the top.
Even if the people didn't notice them and ate some.
However, they aren't hard to notice in that picture so I find it hard to believe that a person eating a lettuce wrap wouldn't have noticed them when they were holding said wrap in their hands and bringing it towards their face. And that is after loading their own plates with that same lettuce. And this was 4 people who didn't notice?
It isn't uncommon to find things in your food, sometimes stuff happens. I've found a slug in my lettuce once, and one of those huge crane bug in my salad.
Most people that find things complain, get a replacement meal. and maybe get their meal comped and go on their merry way. They don't sue for thousands of dollars for suffering “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” as well as loss of earnings.
So while I don't hold the family responsible for the fact that bugs were found in their lettuce, I do find them responsible for "playing" up a story that they somehow suffered tremendously after consuming the bugs that are clearly visible on their food. All the had to do was open their eyes and shut their mouths.

This exactly. I don't doubt that you could find bugs in your food at Disney (or anywhere else), but to sue them over it is ridiculous and a money grab.

 

[cranbiz]

They probably did tell someone? I’m not sure where you’re seeing it explicitly stated that they did not tell anyone. And you take photos because if you don’t, nobody will believe you. Case in point.

What I'm seeing is a family that claims to have gotten food poisoning from eating bug infested lettuce at Disney and spending time at the emergency room due to this. A lawsuit was then filed.

There are a lot of missing facts but some things are clear.

1) They claimed to have eaten bug infested lettuce
2) They took pictures of such
3) They claimed that they felt something crawling in their mouths and then realized something was wrong.
4) The pictures taken and shown were pretty obvious that bugs were present but apparently not obvious enough to not eat them.

Somehow, I just don't believe the sequence of events as they described them. It's not that I don't believe they found bugs as I know it can happen. I just don't believe that they didn't notice things until all 3 members ate the bugs, then that all 3 required several trips to the ER because of the bugs. Something just doesn't add up with this except that someone is looking for a payday.

Hey, when Disney is in the wrong, certainly hold them accountable but the sad truth is they're are many, many guests that come to Disney looking for a way to make money off of the company and too many lawyers willing to sue. Disney settles too many cases because it's cheaper to settle than defend a baseless claim and the lawyers know that.

I have watched families attempt to stage an accident. Most were very obvious and any I saw failed upon investigation but that doesn't stop people from trying.

 

[middlechild]

The whole point of our justice system is to allow findings of fact. What we do know is a lawsuit was filed, and a picture was presented. Everything beyond that is pure conjecture, an emotional response. And not fact.

Just another Internet post to taint the jury pool. The family lawyer then has more ammunition to get a financial score from Disney, due to publicity, without having to prove any facts standing up in court.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I think a lot of people here are spinning the story still, bugs in lettuce can be hard to see unless you’re looking for them. I don’t find it unreasonable that bugs made it into the lettuce on the buffet line, one unlucky family got the head of lettuce that was not washed properly, and got half way through before they noticed. From there they probably took a couple pictures and then told the concierge who took back the whole batch to the kitchen and tried to sweep it under the rug.

While I agree with you on a number of points, I still can't get over not spotting the bugs. It's not that we are talking one missed bug on pre-wrapped lettuce (FAR MORE PLAUSIBLE).
* The picture taken has dozens of bugs. This is not one errant bug that squeezed by QA. This sucker is crawling with them.
* FOUR people took individual pieces of said lettuce. Put other fillings inside the lettuce, then proceeded to wrap the lettuce around the food and bugs. I cannot conceive of how you could do this blindfolded and oblivious to the bugs which surely must also by now be interacting with the other food and your hands.
* FOUR people proceeded to then eat the bug infested lettuce without ONE of them noticing the bugs.

Then after all that, you have the additional fact you point out that bugs would in no way give you food poisoning. They MAY make you vomit. They would likely make me vomit. There may have been food positioning, but the existence of bugs is unrelated.

 

[Bearval]

Bugs are good for you. Good source of protein. They don't cause food poisoning. Not to say they couldn't have ALSO gotten food poisoning, but it wasn't the bugs that made them sick. Either way, gross. And also, did they not LOOK at their food before eating it? These were lettuce wraps...you have to handle the lettuce to make the wrap.

A decade ago or more if your fish was served raw you would have claim that is gross and can make you sick, today you pay a premium for raw fish. WDW is just going to be a trend setter here and soon you will pay more for this delicacy too.

 

[ELLH]

1) Some of you are terrible at reading comprehension or simply didn't read. The article says they were eating before they realized there were bugs. It doesn't say they saw bugs, took pictures, then began to eat the lettuce. Here: “After consuming multiple lettuce wraps, [Brittany Walker Figueroa] felt something crawling inside of her mouth and removed what appeared to be a small green object that had legs and was moving”.
2) “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life”?... Please. Even if this incident happened the way they say it did... they lost their ability to enjoy life? I get suing for hospital expenses and just plain punitive reasons but to state a portion of your justification for the suit as “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life” is absurd. I once got food poisoning from Burger King. I didn't want to stop living (though, I may have felt like I was going to).

 

[rpb718]

I'm sorry, but the phrase “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life” amuses me greatly. It's one of those phrases one hears and wants to begin using in everyday life.

Say you couldn't get a FP+ and were forced to wait in the regular line at WDW? Or all the popcorn stands are sold out of that one bucket you really wanted to get this trip? Or the bus was full and you have to wait for another bus to take you back to the resort?

I can now turn to my DW and blurt out that I've “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life”.

 

[mshanson3121]

I think a lawsuit for over $15K for finding some bugs on your lettuce is way over the top.
Even if the people didn't notice them and ate some.
However, they aren't hard to notice in that picture so I find it hard to believe that a person eating a lettuce wrap wouldn't have noticed them when they were holding said wrap in their hands and bringing it towards their face. And that is after loading their own plates with that same lettuce. And this was 4 people who didn't notice?
It isn't uncommon to find things in your food, sometimes stuff happens. I've found a slug in my lettuce once, and one of those huge crane bug in my salad.
Most people that find things complain, get a replacement meal. and maybe get their meal comped and go on their merry way. They don't sue for thousands of dollars for suffering “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” as well as loss of earnings.
So while I don't hold the family responsible for the fact that bugs were found in their lettuce, I do find them responsible for "playing" up a story that they somehow suffered tremendously after consuming the bugs that are clearly visible on their food. All the had to do was open their eyes and shut their mouths.

I think $15K is very feasible. There were several adults who had to make multiple trips to the ER. Then it says they also missed work. Between lost wages and hospital fees for several people - there's easily the potential for $15K in costs.

That all said - still not convinced I believe the story, and the "enthusiasm for life" comment (or however they put it) seems bogus.

 

[Delite]

How hard is it to believe unwashed lettuce might have fecal matter? Disney isn't immune to lazy employees.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

How many other people were there, apart from this family? Were they the only people there?
That's a serious amount of bugs not to have spotted immediately and is there any record of them informing a CM as soon as they spotted them
As for the photo, an extreme close up with no other photos to give a proper perspective of where it was actually taken is not adequate evidence. A photo of lettuce crawling in bugs could have been produced in their own kitchen.
Perhaps the poisoning happened from eating elsewhere and that part about the ER is true. Disney are consistently a good target for suing, so let's give it a go. A photo of bug infested lettuce, that'll do nicely.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Food-service lettuce is notoriously often infected with bacteria and viruses, from the time it's picked and packed at the factory.

Bugs? Well they were at ANIMAL KINGDOM.... Too bad they didn't enjoy the authentic meal; I am sure a LOT of Africans would have been delighted to have the extra protein option.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Food-service lettuce is notoriously often infected with bacteria and viruses, from the time it's picked and packed at the factory.

Bugs? Well they were at ANIMAL KINGDOM.... Too bad they didn't enjoy the authentic meal; I am sure a LOT of Africans would have been delighted to have the extra protein option.

Disney should have counter-sued the family for eating from the upgraded buffet and paying regular prices.