MONTREAL — Typically when a waiter mixes up an order, he can expect a scowl and a lousy tip. But a Sherbrooke, Que., waiter faces a possible criminal prosecution after he served salmon tartare to a customer with a severe seafood allergy.
Sherbrooke police arrested a 22-year-old man Wednesday on suspicion of criminal negligence following an incident in May that left Simon-Pierre Canuel in a coma after the beef tartare he ordered turned out to be salmon.
Canuel said he took one bite of the dish in the dimly lit restaurant before realizing it was fish. Within minutes, his throat became itchy and began to tighten, his tongue swelled and he had trouble breathing.
He had left his EpiPen in the car, so his partner, a medical resident, and another diner who was a doctor laid him on the floor to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while awaiting an ambulance.
He was taken to hospital, where he developed complications the next day and suffered cardiac arrest. He fell into a coma for two days before recovering and being released.
http://news.national...seafood-allergy