The chicken is moving! Australian woman awarded more than $200 million in compensation for salmonella infection

Chicken rolls left girl quadriplegic! According to Reuters, the New South Wales Supreme Court of Australia ruled on the 27th that a well-known fast food company should compensate the family of a girl named Monika Samaan 8 million Australian dollars, equivalent to about NT$244 million, just for a chicken roll contaminated with salmonella.

Australian girl Monica Sharman became paralyzed seven years ago after accidentally eating a chicken roll contaminated with salmonella. (Photo/taken from Reuters official website)

The incident happened in October 2005, when Monica, who was only 7 years old at the time, shared a chicken roll with her family at a well-known fast food chain in Sydney, Australia. The whole family developed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, and Monica was in a coma for half a year. According to the doctor's diagnosis at the time, Monica suffered septic shock and severe brain damage due to eating chicken rolls infected with Salmonella, resulting in cognitive, movement and language disorders, as well as paralysis and spasms in her limbs.

However, according to Australian judge Loveman, one or more employees of the business were "careless" and violated their duty of care by failing to follow the correct preparation procedures when handling food, which resulted in the chicken rolls being contaminated with Salmonella, which in turn caused Monica to become quadriplegic. Therefore, the business was ordered to pay more than NT$200 million in compensation to Monica's family, who were in a wheelchair after the poisoning.

In response, Monica's lawyer George Vlahakis said, "Monica has exhausted the family's very limited resources and urgently needs compensation." However, the industry owner claimed that this was a tragedy, but was very disappointed and surprised by the court's decision and will appeal.

"Salmonella" is a common bacterial food poisoning. Patients are prone to accidentally ingesting improperly processed food, which causes a large number of live Salmonella to enter the digestive tract with the food and multiply in the intestines. They then enter the blood circulation through the mesenteric lymphatic tissue, causing chills, headaches, dizziness, nausea, dehydration, acidosis, anuria, heart failure, etc. In severe cases, it can cause sepsis, impaired brain function, and even death.

The main ways to prevent food poisoning caused by Salmonella include heating food to 60°C for more than 20 minutes; washing fingers and hands thoroughly with detergent or soap before cooking, and drying with disposable paper towels before cooking; and preventing vectors such as rats, flies, and cockroaches from invading the cooking area.