How Salmonella Poisoning Just Cost This Restaurant $11 Million

A federal judge is ordering a restaurant to pay $11.4 million to a man who got food poisoning while dining at the establishment. In 2010, a Nebraska man contracted salmonella from eating at an Old Country Buffet during a dinner with his wife.

KGAB reports that U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl awarded the couple the damages after writing of the husband’s numerous surgeries and procedures after dining at the buffet in Casper, NE.

Skavdahl states that Christopher Gage is in daily pain and cannot eat or drink water without throwing up. The majority of his meals end in him vomiting. Gage has also lost his mobility and his cognitive functioning has been significantly impacted.

Damages to Gage include abdominal cramping, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, dehydration, acute kidney failure, sepsis, acute lactic acidosis, anemia, thromocytophenia and partial fibrillation.

A day after Gage got sick, the Laramie County Health Department cited the restaurant for numerous health code violations.

Old Country Buffet is operated by Ovation Brands who could not be reached for comments.