Teen Dies After Eating Pancakes At A Minnesota Café, Family Files Lawsuit For Fatal Mistake

After a teen dies from eating pancakes at a Minnesota café, a family takes action and files a lawsuit against the restaurant for their fatal mistake.

According to Fox 59, 16-year-old Scott Johnson was born with a severe allergy to dairy and even the smallest traces in his food could send him to the ER, which is why it was seldom that the Johnson’s ate out.

However, in June of 2014, they made an exception when Scott’s sisters wanted to treat him and his mother to breakfast. They settled for a restaurant called Minnesota Nice Café, but before placing their order, they questioned the workers to ensure they served dairy-free pancakes.

There was no need to question the staff or remind them about Scott’s severe allergy to dairy because they were familiar faces at Minnesota Nice Café. The family ate their often and the staff was aware of Scott’s condition, but the family wanted to be on the safe side.

Aside from Scott’s parents, his sister, Jaris Johnson, also made certain that the foods her brother ate weren’t life threatening. “Every time I would pick something up, when I was shopping with my parents, I’d look at the label and be like, ‘can Scott have this?'”

“If it wasn’t right, we didn’t eat until his was right,” Scott’s dad, Steve Johnson, added.

Once they were reassured by workers that they served dairy-free pancakes, the Johnson family sat at a table and enjoyed their breakfast.

In the Johnson’s family lawsuit, it stated what transpired the day Scott died after eating pancakes at the café.

“Cindy Johnson asked the server if the restaurant’s gluten-free pancakes were also dairy-free. The server reported that they were, after checking with the cook. Cindy then told the server the grill would have to be cleaned before her son’s pancakes were made. Scott’s mom and sisters watched him eat two pancakes, thinking they were fine.”

But after Scott finished his pancakes, he said ‘we have to go now,'” Cindy stated. It appeared that Scott was having an allergic reaction at the café and realized that he left his EpiPen and nebulizer at home, which helps open his lungs.

Once the Johnson family reached home, they realized that the EpiPen and nebulizer weren’t working as it did before, so they rushed him to the ER. Doctors informed the family that Scott had suffered from a severe anaphylactic reaction, which caused his heart to fail.

Scott Johnson died three days later.

Steve Johnson stated that when he received the phone call about his son’s condition, he was “eighteen miles off the highway.”

He continued as follows.

“Hardest thing for me was I didn’t even get to talk to him.”

“Sixteen years. That’s too short.”

“Ask questions. If you’re not sure, don’t do it.”

Cindy expressed how much she missed her brother. “I miss him just as much today as the day after. Just one mistake can take someone’s life.”

The Johnson family has now filed a lawsuit against the restaurant.

[Image courtesy of Garret Keogh/Flickr]