An American man launched a lawsuit against McDonald’s after going into anaphylactic shock due to an order error, but he remains a customer of the fast food chain.
Charles Olsen, 28, from Rockland County, New York, nearly died in February 2021 after a slice of cheese ended up in his Big Mac, even though he requested his sandwich without cheese. This is because he is severely allergic to dairy products.
“When I got my food, I opened the burger, and it seemed like it always did when I ordered it. I didn’t see any traces of melted cheese on the sides,” Olsen said, according to the New York Post.
“I was just frustrated that McDonald’s ordered wrong. But as my symptoms got worse, I started to worry and realized how serious it was,” he added, adding that he ordered from DoorDash as he had done before .
Seeing that his throat was swelling and he was short of air, his friend Alexandra DiBenedetto rushed him to the hospital, where he had to be intubated.
“Having to watch him struggle like he did was absolutely horrific, and it became more and more frightening as the reaction progressed. It’s never easy to see someone you love suffering, let alone fighting for their life. I was up all night, terrified, just looking at him to make sure everything was okay,” she said.
Always a customer
Even so, the man said he still goes to McDonald’s, but no longer orders specific orders.
“Now I just order their fries and a plain burger, with nothing on it. Just the pancake and the bun. I just can’t risk it happening again,” Charles Olsen said.
For his part, American lawyer Jory Lange believes that this lawsuit should encourage restaurateurs to listen more to their customers, especially when it comes to food allergies.
