Stacey Wagers, 45, had to have her gallbladder and part of her stomach removed after she drank water that a waiter had poured liquid nitrogen into
A Florida woman is suing a hotel after she drank liquid nitrogen a waiter poured into her water glass, resulting in her needing to have her gallbladder and part of her stomach removed.
The incident occurred at the Don Cesar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Florida, in November 2018, when Stacey Wagers, 45, of Tampa, Florida, and her friend were celebrating Wagers’ birthday with dinner at the hotel’s Maritana Grille restaurant.
Wagers told NBC News that she and her friend had just finished eating when they saw a waiter pouring a liquid over a dessert that made it ‘smoke’ at a table nearby.
Wagers said that her friend told the waiter that the smokey effect looked cool, so he poured what turned out to be liquid nitrogen – a freezing agent – into the two women’s water glasses.
‘Of course I didn’t think it was dangerous at all,’ Wagers said, noting that the waiter ‘had just poured it on a dessert.’
When Wagers and her friend drank their liquid nitrogen-laced water, Wagers said she immediately fell sick.
‘There was an explosion in my chest,’ Wagers said, adding that it felt like she was dying and that she was unable to speak.
The incident took place at a restaurant inside the Don Cesar Hotel (pictured) in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Wagers filed a lawsuit against the hotel Friday
Wagers said she and her friend had just finished dinner at the Maritana Grille (pictured), inside the hotel, when they happened to see a waiter pouring liquid nitrogen over another diner’s dessert. After telling the waiter the smoke looked cool, he poured the liquid into their water
The FDA has warned against drinking, eating or handling food prepared with liquid nitrogen, a freezing agent, which creates a smokey effect, due to potential injury (file image)
Wagers was then rushed to the hospital, where she had surgery to remove her gallbladder, as well as portions of her stomach which had been burned by the liquid nitrogen. She also had to stay in the ICU for several days.
Her attorney, Adam Brum, told NBC News that Wagers has lost more than 25 pounds as a result of the incident and is expected to have lifelong digestion issues.
According to Wagers’ lawsuit, filed Friday and obtained by ABC Action News, the hotel and its employees ‘should have known that drinking the liquid nitrogen was dangerous’ and that Wagers ‘was completely unaware of the danger of drinking the liquid nitrogen pours into her glass by the waiter.’
The lawsuit – filed against the hotel and the restaurant’s director of food and beverage – also claims that the hotel staffers should have trained its employees to adequately warn customers about the dangers and possible injuries of ingesting liquid nitrogen.
‘You’re not supposed to just pour it in someone’s drink and allow them to just take a big gulp of this,’ Brum said of the waiter who gave Wagers and her friend the cryogenic fluid.
In August 2018, the FDA issued an alert warning customers and retailers ‘of the potential for serious injury from eating, drinking, or handling food products prepared by adding liquid nitrogen at the point of sale, immediately before consumption.’
‘Liquid nitrogen, although non-toxic, can cause severe damage to skin and internal organs if mishandled or accidentally ingested due to the extremely low temperatures it can maintain,’ the FDA added.
Wagers’ lawsuit said that she is seeking a judgement against both the hotel and the food and beverage director of more than $15,000 each and is seeking a jury trial.