Legal News

The owner of a takeaway is to face charges after he served a curry containing peanuts to a customer with a peanut allergy, who later died.

The Daily Mail reports that 52-year-old Mohammed Khalique Zaman will face manslaughter charges relating to the death of 38-year-old Paul Wilson, a pub landlord who went into anaphylactic shock after eating food from The Indian Garden in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

Mr Zaman is due to appear at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court on Friday (27/03/15) and is facing charges of manslaughter by gross negligence.

It is the first time a case of this kind has been brought in the UK.

Mr Wilson bought the curry at The Indian Garden – part of an award winning chain of curry houses – in January 2014.

Mr Zaman has run takeaways and restaurants across North Yorkshire for years – the Jaipur Spice chain was judged best curry house at the Bangladeshi Catering Association Awards in 2012 and 2103.

Mr Wilson – who has a son now aged seven – was bar manager at the Oak Tree pub in Helperby, near Thirsk.

He was found collapsed on the floor in the living quarters of the pub, after eating the curry. He died just months before new laws about allergy information on food packaging were introduced.

Mr Wilson’s death led to a “purge” on food fraud – especially targeting the use of peanuts in dishes instead of more expensive almonds. Unless a person has an allergy to peanuts, it is unlikely they would be able to taste the difference in a curry made with peanuts, experts say.

However, food allergies can prove fatal in severe cases – including peanut allergies – with around ten cases a year in the UK.

In 2011, another Indian restaurant in Norfolk, the Spice Lounge, was prosecuted and ordered to pay £6,000 in fines and legal costs, after a customer was rushed to hospital suffering from a serious allergic reaction to milk in her curry. She had already advised staff at the Spice Lounge that it made her ill.

It is reported that Zaman has also been charged with perverting the course justice – and an employment offence under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

A 38-year-old man arrested at the same time as Zaman was later released by police without charge.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – No win no fee Food Poisoning Claims and Allergy Claims

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise on making a claim for compensation in cases involving negligence relating to food poisoning or allergies from food or faulty goods.

Personal injury claimants have three years from the date of illness in which to make a compensation claim, including claims relating to chemical allergies (eg preservatives in leather furniture), cosmetic allergies (eg face creams or fillers), food allergies (eg fish, nuts, wheat, milk and dairy), hair dyes (eg if a strand test was not carried out by a hairdresser) and medications (over-the-counter and prescribed).

Children can claim up compensation for food poisoning or allergies up to the age of 21.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Food Poisoning and Allergy Claims, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.