Michigan girl's contaminated Wendy's meal left her with permanent brain damage, lawsuit claims

A Michigan girl has allegedly suffered permanent brain damage and a slew of other medical injuries after eating a contaminated Wendy's meal from a Jenison franchise location.

Aspen Lamfers' mother, Joy Lamfers, is suing the operator, Meritage Hospitality Group, for allegedly failing to ensure proper food safety protocols were practiced at the Jenison location, leading to an E. coli outbreak in July 2022 that caused her 11-year-old daughter's health to severely deteriorate.

"To see the drop-off in her abilities … and the damage that's done to her brain that's irreversible, it's really, really hard on everybody," Thomas Worsfold, an attorney representing Joy Lamfers, told Fox News Digital. "It hit me so hard imagining what I would do and how I would feel if this were my child, who went from reading above her grade level to two grades below from one year to the next, and going from a 70th percentile score … in math to the 9th percentile."

Aspen went to Wendy's for dinner on the evening of Aug. 1, 2022, after softball practice and ordered a "Biggie Bag" meal, which included a hamburger, chicken nuggets and french fries, according to the lawsuit.

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Days prior, a shipment of romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli was shipped to various Wendy's locations across the Midwest, including the location in Jenison. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traced 109 E. coli infections in six states — 67 in Michigan — stemming from the contaminated lettuce shipment.

On July 27, 2022 — days before Aspen ordered her Biggie Bag meal — Ottawa County Health Department (OCHD) officials visited the Jenison Wendy's and conducted an inspection that resulted in 17 health code violations at the franchise location, according to the lawsuit. The store closed temporarily to address the violations and clean the facility. 

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On Aug. 4, 2022, Aspen, who did not eat any lettuce in her meal, fell ill with nausea, abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea. Her mother took her to urgent care two days later when the 11-year-old's symptoms started getting worse. Medical professionals at Holland Hospital determined that Aspen was suffering from a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection.

The Meritage Hospitality Group told FOX 17 in a statement, "We take the health and safety of our customers very seriously." The group denied "any wrongdoing or failure" of its "food safety practices in these cases" and declined to comment further due to pending litigation. Wendy's did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital. 

It was later determined that the food Aspen ate from the Jenison Wendy's was tainted with E. coli.

"There's a misconception as far as the incubation period for this kind of bacteria," Worsfold explained. "It's important to know that [Aspen's infection] was a particular part of this outbreak. Hers was included … by the CDC as part of this E. coli outbreak. Even though she didn't eat the lettuce, she still got sick because of the unsanitary [conditions] and blatant disregard for basic safety practices at this restaurant."

Worsfold added that if workers at the Jenison Wendy's had followed state safety protocols, Aspen would never have suffered the E. coli infection that has allegedly led to other health conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, paralysis on the left side of her body, seizures and brain damage.

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On Aug. 11 — the same day Aspen was transferred to DeVos Children's Hospital as her infection continued to worsen — the Jenison Wendy's temporarily closed for a second time after OCHD officials returned and cited more health code violations at the location.

The violations cited between July 27 and Aug. 11 included moldy and spoiled food; dirty cooking tools and utensils; diluted sanitizer; dirty non-contact food surfaces; undated produce; and generally dirty premises. 

Officials also noted an employee who touched their face and dirty surfaces in the establishment without washing their hands before working; employees who did not change gloves; an employee who went straight to sanitizing dishes before rinsing them; blood from ground beef dripped across a clean food surface; an un-stocked hand-washing station near the drive-thru window and multiple other violations.

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"Many…violations cited along with repeated violations from the previous routine inspection were observed at the time of the inspection," health officials wrote after the Aug. 11 inspection. "The large number of violations indicate that food safety is at risk, as they are cited throughout the facility and relate to most aspects of food preparation and service."

Aspen's infection eventually became critical, causing her to become nonverbal and experience paralysis on the left side of her body, according to the lawsuit.

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But before she lost verbal abilities, Apsen allegedly cried, "Why am I so sick? Why? And it's so bad!"

To this day, Aspen has to take medication for her hypertension and seizures. She experiences blood sugar spikes due to her diabetes and difficulties learning at the level she once did in school. Aspen's mother works in a lab in a hospital and her father is an engineer, Worsfold noted.

"The loss of potential in her life that was caused by this infection, to me, is the most significant component of the non-economic side of damages that we are including," the attorney said.

Aspen's family is seeking $20 million in damages for the lasting impacts of the E. coli infection that has altered the course of the now-13-year-old's life. She faces "tremendous health complications" in her future, the lawsuit states.