The family of an 11-year-old girl is filing a lawsuit after saying the girl became seriously ill while eating at a Wendy’s restaurant in Michigan.

On Aug. 1, 2022, 11-year-old Aspen Lamfers went to a Wendy’s in Jenison after softball practice and ate a “Biggie Bag” meal. The meal included a hamburger, chicken nuggets and French fries, according to an April 4 lawsuit filed by her family.

On August 4, Aspen began to feel very ill, suffering from nausea, stomach pain, fever and diarrhea, the lawsuit states. Her symptoms worsened over the next few days, and when her mother noticed blood in her stool on August 6, she took her to the hospital.

After treatment, she was sent home, but on August 7, she was back in the hospital and worsening, the lawsuit says.

On August 11, she was transferred to another hospital, eventually placed in the pediatric intensive care unit and placed on dialysis, court documents show.

Aspen was treated for hemolytic uremic syndrome, a known and critical complication of STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) infection, and was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure, the lawsuit states.

She also suddenly began to suffer from neurological problems, such as a sagging face, weakness on the left side of her body and numbness, the lawsuit states.

Aspen was considered “seriously ill” and eventually suffered kidney failure and permanent brain damage, the lawsuit states.

“Aspen’s life has been forever changed because of this blatant disregard for the public’s health and safety,” family attorney Tom Worsfold said in a statement to McClatchy News.

At one point, Aspen lost the floor, but not before asking a question, the lawsuit says.

“Why am I so sick? Why? And it’s so bad!” she said, according to court documents.

Aspen was partially paralyzed and had trouble drinking through a straw, the lawsuit says. She developed high blood pressure, anemia, blurred vision and hallucinations due to brain swelling, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit states that Aspen must undergo physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, nursing, counseling and medical monitoring and care, including continued kidney dialysis.

She was discharged on Sept. 9 with permanent impairments, including high blood pressure, loss of strength, diabetes, seizures and brain damage, the lawsuit says.

“When Aspen took the State M-Step test in the spring of 2022 in fifth grade, she scored in the 61st percentile in reading with a 6th grade reading level and in the 70th percentile in math,” the lawsuit states. “When Aspen took the State M-Step test in the spring of 2023 after her STEC infection, she scored in the 26th percentile in reading with a 4th grade reading level and in the 9th percentile in math.”

Reports of a “dirty” restaurant

McClatchy News reached out to Meritage Hospitality Group, Inc., which does business as Wendy’s, on April 16 for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

During an inspection of the Wendy’s location by the Ottawa County Health Department on July 27, the restaurant was found to have 17 health and food code violations. Inspectors found “moldy strawberries, spoiled tomatoes and day-old chili peppers lying around outside,” according to inspection reports included in the lawsuit.

In addition, there were water leaks throughout the building and there was expired food, food scraps on the floor and dirty surfaces, the report said.

“The facility is extremely dirty overall. Mold and mildew are visible everywhere,” the report states.

The restaurant was closed while staff worked to fix the problems. Then, on Aug. 8, the county health department realized there was a connection between recent STEC infections and the Wendy’s location, the lawsuit says.

During a follow-up inspection at Wendy’s, investigators discovered several violations, the lawsuit states.

“Employees did not change their gloves after contamination occurred,” it said. “Some blood was observed dripping from the ground beef onto the clean surface/food storage area of ​​the grill where food is not stored (such as cooked burgers being kept warm). The blood transferred via gloved hands onto a clean white spatula used for the cooked burgers, which are then prepared/served without further cooking.”

The inspection report said the violations indicated that food safety at Wendy’s was at risk.

After the follow-up inspection, the store was closed again “due to complaints of illness and a possible outbreak” of E. coli infections, the lawsuit states. After a change in management, it reopened on August 17.

“Despite our best efforts, Meritage Hospitality Group has been unwilling or unable to make any efforts to resolve Aspen’s claims without litigation,” Worsfold told McClatchy News.

The lawsuit seeks a $20 million judgment.

Jenison is located about 10 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.

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