A Seaville, New Jersey, man who drank beer tainted by a caustic chemical at an Atlantic City casino restaurant back in 2012 was awarded $750,000 on Friday.
Retired Ocean City police officer, Richard Washart, 55, was at the McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant with friends when he was served a beer and immediately felt burning pain.
He ran to the bathroom, where he experienced the first of six rounds of projectile vomiting.
He tried to drink water from the faucet, but was unable to, due to the pain in his mouth and throat.
Richard Washart, 55, was awarded $750,000 on Friday after drinking caustic beer at the McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant in Atlantic City
A short time later, he began vomiting blood and went to a hospital, where he remained for six days.
A doctor said he had never seen a patient survive with such severe burns to the esophagus and stomach.
Richard sued McCormick & Schmick’s, which is located at the Harrah’s casino, claiming he was served beer tainted by a caustic agent used to clean beer tap lines.
‘You think when you go out to eat that what you’re going to ingest is safe,’ Cynthia Washart, Richard’s wife told NBC Philadelphia.
‘I never questioned that before.’
Harrah’s was not a defendant in the suit.
Kramer Beverage Co., of Hammonton, New Jersey, denied being at the restaurant the day of the incident
The restaurant blamed a company it uses to clean its beer lines, Kramer Beverage Co., of Hammonton, New Jersey, which denied being at the restaurant when the November 6, 2012, incident occurred.
Kramer however insisted that the company was not at the restaurant on the day in question, according to the New York Post.
Robert Paessler, a lawyer for the company, said: ‘The first question right off the bat: Did Kramer Beverage clean a line on Nov. 6, 2012? The answer is no. That’s the end of the case.’
George Godfrey, a lawyer for McCormick & Schmick’s, said the only way caustic material could have gotten into the beer line is if Kramer had cleaned it.
McCormick & Schmick’s insisted the only way caustic material could have gotten into the beer line is if Kramer had cleaned it
A restaurant manager testified during the trial he saw a Kramer employee that day who told him he had cleaned the beer lines, according to the New York Post.
Paul D’Amato, the lawyer for Richard, mentioned that Kramer destroyed records that could have shown where the company’s line cleaners worked that day.
The jury awarded Richard $650,000 for pain and suffering and $100,000 for emotional distress.
Both McCormick & Schmick’s and Kramer Beverage Co. must pay half the award each.