Wendy's sued by family after girl, 11, fights for life after eating at 'filthy' restaurant

A family is suing Wendy's after their 11-year-old daughter nearly lost her life due to a severe illness caused by E. coli contamination from a meal consumed at the fast-food chain's "filthy" restaurant in Michigan.

Aspen Lamfers, 11, visited a Wendy's outlet in Jenison and had a "Biggie Bag" meal, comprising a hamburger, chicken nuggets, and fries, after a softball practice on August 1, 2022.

Three days later, she fell ill with symptoms including nausea, diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and fever, as outlined in the family's lawsuit.

On August 7, she was hospitalized and subsequently transferred to a pediatric intensive care unit where she underwent dialysis due to stage 3 kidney failure caused by hemolytic uremic syndrome—an infection linked to E. coli bacteria that affects kidney function and blood clotting.

Aspen Lamfers, 11, was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening disease from E. Coli

The illness led to permanent brain damage for Aspen, along with complications like high blood pressure, anemia, impaired vision, and hallucinations, as detailed in the lawsuit.

The family's attorney stated, “Aspen’s life has been forever changed because of this blatant disregard for the health and safety of the public.”

Despite some improvement after a two-week hospital stay, Aspen required extensive physical, speech, occupational, and language therapy at a rehabilitation facility.

The lawsuit targets Meritage Hospitality Group, Inc., the owner of the Wendy's franchise, noting that the restaurant had 17 health and food code violations in 2022, including findings of dirty conditions and mishandling of food items like moldy strawberries, spoiled tomatoes, and improperly stored chili.

Violations also included employees not changing gloves after contamination, leading to incidents like blood from ground beef being transferred to clean surfaces and utensils used for cooked burgers without further sanitation.

The restaurant underwent temporary closures due to these issues, and later due to illness complaints and potential E. coli outbreaks. It reopened under new management in August.

The Lamfers family is seeking $20 million in damages, citing negligence that resulted in their daughter's E. coli infection from food consumed at the Wendy's outlet.