When going out to eat, individuals expect to be served what was asked for. Occasionally mistakes are made and the correct order is cleared up without any issues. However, one mistake made at an Applebee’s earlier this month resulted in serious injuries and could have caused the death of a toddler.
The parents of a 15-month-old toddler are now suing the parent company of Applebee’s claiming that one of the restaurants they recently visited served their child alcohol instead of apple juice. The family ate at the Applebee’s restaurant on April 8 and had ordered a child’s meal for their son. After the toddler had been drinking what was believed to be apple juice, the family began to notice some odd behavior. The father tasted the child’s beverage and realized that there was alcohol in the drink. Applebee’s had served the toddler a margarita mix with alcohol instead of the requested apple juice.
The toddler was taken to a hospital and suffered from headaches and nausea for several days after the incident. The lawsuit also claims that the boy’s blood alcohol content was 0.10, which is well above the legal limit for adults in many states including Florida. However, the restaurant claims that a local police department conducted a field test of the drink which registered at 0.014.
An attorney for the family mentioned that Applebee’s has had issues in the past in which employees had served alcoholic beverages instead of non-alcoholic beverages to children. “This is an occasion that came really close to being tragic if the child had ingested a little more alcohol,” said the family’s attorney. Alcohol can have serious effects on any adult, not to mention a child.
Applebee’s is cooperating with authorities and have announced that children will now be served apple juice from single-serve containers at the restaurant.
Source:Thomson Reuters News & Insight: “Parents of tipsy toddler sue Applebee’s over drink mixup,” James B. Kelleher and Terry Baynes, 14 Apr. 2011