Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been named in a new lawsuit filed in Orange County following the death of a patron.
Disney Springs
Raglan Road, an Irish pub and restaurant located in Disney Springs, is also named in the suit. (Note that Raglan Road is a third party operator, so, legally, they would be considered the involved party.)
Jeffrey Piccolo filed the 19-page lawsuit against Disney and Raglan Road after his wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at NYU Langone, suddenly passed away on the evening of October 5th, 2023.
The suit alleges that Piccolo, Piccolo’s mother, and Tangsuan visited Raglan Road at Disney Springs for dinner and advised their waiter of Tangsuan’s severe food allergies, requesting allergen-free food. The suit states that the patrons questioned the waiter about menu items “to confirm whether they had allergens in them or not.”
Raglan Road
Per the suit, the waiter went to ask the chef if certain foods could be made allergen-free, then returned to the table and confirmed that they could. The documents indicate that it was confirmed that “Raglan Road would prepare allergen-free food for Kanokporn Tangsuan.”
According to the case, the waiter assured the diners that the food would be allergen-free, and so Tangsuan ordered “Sure I’m Frittered (V)”, “Scallop Forest”, “This Shepherd Went Vegan (V)”, and “Onion Rings”. When the food arrived, the suit says, the diners noticed that the customary allergen flags usually served with allergen-free food were missing, and once again confirmed with the waiter that the items were allergen-free.
Disney Springs
The suit says that around 8PM, Tangsuan and Piccolo’s mother decided to go shopping at Disney Springs while Piccolo returned to their room with their leftover food. The two women then separated for a while, before Tangsuan headed to Planet Hollywood.
Around 8:45PM, the suit alleges, Tangsuan entered Planet Hollywood “while suffering from a severe acute allergic reaction to the food served at Raglan Road.” Emergency medical services were called and were advised that Tangsuan was having an allergic reaction and had administered an Epi-Pen.
Jeffrey Piccolo was later informed that Tangsuan had passed away. According to the medical examiner’s investigation, Kanokporn Tangsuan’s cause of death “was as a result of anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system,” the lawsuit reads.
Disney Springs
Piccolo is seeking damages of more than $50,000 under Florida’s wrongful death act, in addition to mental pain and suffering, loss of income, and funeral expenses. The suit indicated Disney failed to educate, train, and instruct its employees to make sure food, indicated as allergen-free or requested to be made allergen-free, was in fact safe.
Raglan Road
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has received a FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) Award “for dedication to providing a safe and enjoyable dining experience for vacationing families.” You can read more about dining with allergies at Disney World here.
DFB has reached out to Raglan Road for comment on the lawsuit. Walt Disney World is not providing any statements at this time.
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I have had a lot of questions since I first learned about this, starting with…why did it take her so long to have an allergic reaction? That is VERY unusual in itself.
Sad situation, but it seems like it was Raglan Road’s fault, not Disney’s. But I guess Disney has deeper pockets.
She must have had a severe reaction to something. Not sure if her allergy is Airbourne as well. You’d need to know everything she ate that day, not just the last place.
So sad, allergies are no joke. Surprised her épilent did not stabilize her. Goes to show that if you’re not sure don’t eat it. I would have asked the chef to come to the table. I’ve had a chef interview me and my friend at Blue Bayon in Disneyland. I am allergic to chocolate and he was allergic to pepper. They took it very seriously. My sympathies to the family impacted by this, so sad. It’s a scary way to pass.