Girl, 13, suffering from brain damage after ‘putrid’ Wendy’s food will ‘never have a normal life again,’ says lawyer
A TEEN girl is suffering from lifelong brain damage thanks to a meal that she got at Wendy’s, a $20 million lawsuit claims.
Aspen Lamfers was 11 years old when she got an E. coli infection that left her with diabetes, partial paralysis, and cognitive decline.
In the lawsuit filed on April 4, Aspen’s family claimed the girl was served an infected meal from a “dirty” Wendy’s in Jenison, Michigan, a census-designated place outside Grand Rapids.
The girl visited the location on August 1, 2022, which was the same month the fast-food chain was linked to a huge E. coli outbreak that saw over 100 infections nationwide.
Aspen got a “Biggie Bag,” which includes a burger, fries, and chicken nuggets, from the location after softball practice, the lawsuit obtained by The U.S. Sun states.
Her meal didn’t contain any romaine lettuce, which was later found to contain the bacteria, but the lawsuit argues the location had other health code violations that could lead to the infection.
On August 4, three days after her meal, Aspen started to feel sick and told her mom she had stomach pain, fever, nausea, and diarrhea.
By August 6, her condition had severely declined and she found blood in her stool, the suit states.
Her mother took her to the hospital, and she was given treatment overnight before she was sent home.
However, she still had severe digestive issues and reported feeling intense abdominal pain in the days that followed the visit.
On August 11, Aspen was checked into the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital and put on dialysis when her kidneys stopped working.
She had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a serious life-threatening disease that can cause kidney or liver failure.
Three days later, she started to develop a severe headache, weakness on her left side, and facial drooping, according to the suit.
Neurological testing showed she had a lack of activity in the right hemisphere of her brain at the time, and that her brain had swollen from the infection.
She continued to suffer for weeks in the hospital and had two massive seizures on August 20.
It wasn’t until September 9 that she was allowed to go home with orders to undergo physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
‘LIFELONG IMPACTS’
In the lawsuit, Aspen’s family claims her intense health scare stemmed from a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection.
Years later, they claim Aspen is still suffering from physical and mental symptoms with no clear answer in sight.
In an exclusive conversation with The U.S. Sun, attorney Tom Worsfold, who is representing the family, said, “This is something that she’s going to face for the rest of her life.”
Worsfold described Aspen as a normal girl who, years ago, excelled in school and loved playing sports.
Now, he said that she struggles to get through the day because of intense weakness and poor memory.
This is going to have lifelong impacts on her ability to achieve not only in school but in whatever career she chooses as well.”
Tom Worsfold
He said despite getting support from her school, she’s still at risk of failing classes as her mental clarity suffers.
“She struggles a lot,” Worsfold said.
“We are more than a year-and-a-half after her getting sick and [her strength] still hasn’t returned.”
To treat the weakness on her left side, Worsfold said that Aspen has to go to physical therapy a couple of times per week.
She also plays sports after school to try and improve her health and is on prescription medication to treat seizures and diabetes.
Though she used to enjoy fast food as an easy treat after sports, now Aspen can only eat lean and healthy food, and has to exercise after eating, according to Worsfold.
Her sugar also plummets randomly while she sleeps, and her family is struggling to regulate it through food and medication.
In school, Aspen can’t seem to keep up with her assignments, despite best efforts to support her recovery, according to the lawyer.
In math, she scored in the 70th percentile on the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress but is now scoring in the 9th percentile.
“This is going to have lifelong impacts on her ability to achieve not only in school but in whatever career she chooses as well,” Worsfold said.
“All she wants is just to be a normal kid and that’s impossible for her.”
‘PUTRID’ KITCHEN
Around the time that Aspen got sick, Wendy’s food was linked to a massive E. coli outbreak that was said to have poisoned over 100 Americans.
The bacteria, which was found on the fast food chain’s lettuce, was mainly found in the Midwest, with cases reported in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
What are the symptoms of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection?
Anyone who eats a product contaminated with STEC is at risk of infection.
Symptoms vary depending on the severity of the infection, but they usually start to develop three to four days after the bacteria is consumed.
Most people report having severe diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting.
Blood in the stool is oftentimes a sure sign of an STEC infection.
Healthy adults will usually recover from the infection after days of rest and hydration, but children are vulnerable to more devastating complications.
In some people, especially children under five, STEC infection can devolve into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUD), which is a serious life-threatening disease that can cause liver or kidney failure.
Those suffering from HUD often require hospitalization for blood transfusions, plasma exchange, or dialysis.
Aspen’s meal did not contain lettuce, but the restaurant that served her meal was dinged for major health violations right before she ate there.
On July 27, 2022, officials found blood from ground beef dripping on the ground, moldy fruit, undated produce, and questionable refrigeration in the facility, according to food code violations laid out in Aspen’s family’s lawsuit.
The report stated that food was left out overnight and noted there was liquid pooled on the ground.
Worsfold described the kitchen environment as “grotesque” and “putrid.”
Overall, the Ocean County Health Department concluded the Jenison store had “gross unsanitary conditions” during the investigation and found 17 health and safety violations.
Managers at the Grand Rapids-based franchisee Meritage Hospitality Group, which owns the Wendy’s, voluntarily closed the location to make necessary changes.
Meritage has yet to comment on the lawsuit and did not respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for a statement.
The U.S. Sun has also reached out to Wendy’s for comment.
Worsfold said he’s seen multiple lawsuits stem from the E. coli outbreak, and expects more to be filed.
Meritage had 28 days as of April 4 to answer the complaint.