Nashville restaurant sued after at least 20 guests infected with salmonella

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) – A Nashville restaurant is undergoing four different lawsuits after a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 20 clients. Each lawsuit requires up to $ 1.5 million in damages, for a total of more than $ 6 million.

The lawsuit alleges that milk and honey, a restaurant located in The Gulch, were negligent and led to the outbreak.

Customers became ill after eating out on August 3rd and 4th. According to the complaint, at least 20 people were infected with salmonella, a foodborne illness that can cause nausea and vomiting and can even become very intense. serious. After an investigation, the public health department of the metro concluded that the guests had fallen ill after eating the gnocchi at the restaurant's short ribs. Health Department spokesman Brian Todd said the dish was made from contaminated eggs.

"It was this particular source, these eggs that came from an Alabama farm," Todd explained. Todd added that the discovery had led to a USDA survey on the farm where these eggs came from: Gravel Ridge Farms.

But the lawsuits allege that there has been more negligence on the part of Milk and Honey. The lawyers say that the dish was undercooked by 10 degrees and that the staff members were not properly trained to prepare the gnocchi. In citing reports from the Department of Health, lawyers said that poor management and insufficient training had led to the appearance of salmonellae.

"The Ministry of Health further concluded that the gnocchi served to the plaintiff and that people located in similar places" were not sufficiently cooked to destroy pathogens, [and] during the event reconstruction, portions of the raw gnocchi were baked at a temperature of 130 ° F, well below the required temperature of 145 ° F, "says the trial.

The four plaintiffs are represented by the same law firm: Surber, Asher, Surber & Moushon, PLLC.

Taylor Monen, the owner of Milk and Honey, told NewsChannel 5 that the outbreak was an "unfortunate incident" isolated from an "August month". She added that the restaurant had immediately broken with Gravel Ridge Farms after the outbreak. Monen refused to go into details, citing the pending lawsuits.

The lawsuits also involve Monen, the parent company of Taco Mamacita Nashville and Gravel Ridge Farms, as defendants.