Tag Archives: St Catharines

Decision reserved in Ontario E. coli restaurant appeal

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Exactly how long it takes for E. coli bacteria to make a person sick is the central issue at an appeals hearing launched by two men trying to overturn their 2009 conviction for serving dangerous food.

The St. Catharines Standard reports Senan Daoud and Mahmoud Asaad. who operated the Yaman Restaurant, were in a St. Catharines court Monday to appeal their conviction for serving food unfit for human consumption that resulted in a fine of $7,500 each.

Their lawyer, Chris Bittle, argued testimony during their 2009 trial about the incubation period of the E. coli that made several people sick after eating at the Yaman left reasonable doubt about the source of the bacteria.

The pair were convicted on five counts of selling unfit food, Justice Ann Watson heard Monday, after a 2007 incident in which the water to the restaurant had been cut off due to a watermain break. Asaad and Daoud kept their restaurant open and served food. Several people who ate there later fell violently ill and tests confirmed they had contracted E. coli, with most contracting the same strain of the bacteria public health inspectors later found on chicken and a knife in the Yaman’s kitchen.
 

If you don’t use potable water to produce food and people get sick expect a lawsuit

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In 2007 owners of a St. Catharines, Ontario restaurant made the poor decision to continue preparing and serving food after water to the establishment had been cut off. The result: at least six people became violently ill, of which three children were hospitalized.

The owners of Yamen restaurant are appealing the court’s verdict regarding two lawsuits totaling 4.3 million in damages, reports The Standard.

Senan Daoud and Mahmoud Asaad are being sued by two families who say they were “violently ill” and continue to suffer after being fed contaminated food.

The Yaman Restaurant co-owners were in court Monday to argue they should be allowed to appeal a March 27 ruling that found them guilty of five counts each of selling food unfit for human consumption.

The cases happened at the Merritt Street restaurant in May 2007, when Asaad and Daoud continued to run the business, despite the fact its water was cut off because of a water-main break. The restaurant was shut down by the Region after several people got sick in May 2007 and reopened in August 2007 with a clean bill of health.

Meanwhile, the families of three girls in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls who were hospitalized following the outbreak have launched lawsuits… Robert and Arlene Willis, with daughter Sara Willis, are suing after eating at the restaurant on May 25, 2007…Jennifer Boehm and 10- and six-year-old daughters Brooklyn and Kassidy Hamelin, ate at the restaurant the following day and are suing, along with the girls’ father, Robert Hamelin.

The court documents say the plaintiffs became “violently ill” within a week of eating at Yaman and were in need of “extensive” medical treatment for their injuries.
Some of those conditions included cramping, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, nausea and headaches.

… [A]ll three children were admitted to local hospitals, while Kassidy was so ill, she was transferred to McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton and was hospitalized for two weeks.